Art, Sewing, Shiners.

Coloring.  Chalk, markers, crayons, whatever they can get their hands on.

 I got some sewing done, with some help from Otis and baby emma the doll.

 We played cars.

Otis ran smack into the door jamb and got himself quite the bruised face.

 It looks way worse now than when it happened, as it has now turned purple, yellow, and green.  He looks like he's wearing eye shadow.

 He got sick on Friday and has been very clingy when sleeping.  He's been in our bed the past two nights, and his nap yesterday was like this:

 Ingrid decided all their coloring needed to be in an art show, so if you're in the Milwaukee area, be sure not to miss the Ingrid and Otis Art Show now at the Liddle Gallery. 

Oh!  And this morning, Ingrid and I went to see Mary Poppins!  There is a small theater that has matinees on the weekend of classic kid movies.  It was her first time going, she liked the popcorn and thought the seats were funny.  But Mary Poppins is long.  And some of it gets boring.  And it was nearing lunch time.  So we bailed right about the part where there's the bird lady singing about tuppence.  We still had fun! 

 

Valentine's Crafts (and Other Random Pictures)

Ugh, we're in February...This is when I hate the midwest.  I'm sick of the snow, and the cold, and bundling up in a million layers.  This was Otis this morning:

All that just to get in the damn car.  His poor little redhead's skin gets all rosy and chapped in the cold weather so I have to try to cover as much as I can.  He got in the car and it must have been cozy, he passed right out.

So, we dream of Spring.  This is Ingrid's rendition of Spring, an apple tree, a bee, a girl with a spotted dog.  I love it.

 Random shot of Otis is another wonderful vintage find--we got this from Bug and Bear Vintage.  Love.

 Have you heard of mug cakes?  Shit.  There goes any chance of lessening my ass this winter. 

 And now, the Valentine's Craft.  I just love these super simple crafts.  It keeps the kids occupied and I have to admit, I had fun making one or two V-day hearts with them today.  We simply tore up pink and red paper, drew a heart on a piece of copy paper, and then used a glue stick to stick the colored pieces on.  Simple yet effective. 

Kids, Thrifting, Sewing, Life.

Four words that sum up my life.  Well, the word life itself sums up life, but you know what I mean...

Kids are good.  Otis is getting a buncha molars at once and has been crabby.  Like this:

Ingrid has been busy drawing again.  She just loves her drawing board!  She'll sit there and talk to herself and tell stories as she draws pictures.  The other night she drew herself and Otis holding hands.  Oh jeez, that's cute.

I have been sewing like mad to get ready for a craft show coming up the week after we close on our house.  And I started selling at this cool local shop called The Waxwing, and she already sold most of the bibs I'd given her.  I really cannot wait to have my space to sew and organize all my junk, but right now having it in the middle of the dining room can be pleasant--look at all the sun that pours in!  I had to hang this bunting up so Otis couldn't get to it while I finished the rest of the order.  It just looked so cheery and bright!

And we popped in a thrift store I never go to, because they try to only put out current stuff it seems like.  And they don't even have a baby section, they just have boys and girls stuff and they toss the baby stuff in a big bin and you have to literally dig through.  So we just looked at toys today and found this gem!  A 1979 Chutes and Ladders game!  This is totally the one I remember having as a kid.  Awesome.

And that's life.  (I do have a husband, too, I swear.  He's busy working and by the time the kids are in bed we both crash with the ipad watching Battlestar Gallactica.  You don't really want to see that picture.)





My Girl

Ingrid just amazes me.  I love her.  Even with all the whining and craziness, she's my girl.  She definitely has her own personality and knows what she likes.  Take the heat--you'd think a kid without air conditioning would want to have as little clothing on as possible and have a fan on her while she sleeps.  Not this kid!  She saw some pjs I'd thrifted and immediately wanted to wear them, even though I'd gotten them for the fall.  When it's cooler.  And then she asked for socks.  And then she put her fleece blanket on.  And then she said she didn't want the fan in her room. 

Ugh, it makes me sweat just thinking about it...And those pjs on her Cabbage Patch Kid?  Those are Otis' preemie pjs!  They actually used to be big on him.  My how he's grown.

Ingrid's favorite thing to do now is to draw.  She goes through so much paper just making all kinds of little guys and telling herself a story as she draws.  I love it, it's when she's the easiest to deal with.

She is almost done with her summer Montessori program, which she's loved.  Hopefully we'll get into a K3 program.  If I ever get off my ass and figure out who to call to sign her up!  I keep thinking of it at odd times, like 6am or 9pm, never during the day when I could actually get a hold of someone!  Of course.

Our Days

New things in our lives:

Exersaucer.  These things are monstrous pieces of ugly plastic and I hate them.  But kids love them and they give me time to take a shower, so I'm not complaining.  Too much.  My friend gave us hers to use for Otis so we didn't have to spend any money on one. 

Drawing.  Not really new but Ingrid is definitely getting better at it.  She draws these little guys all over the place.  She said this picture was a family and they were dancing.

Wading Pool.  Our local park, which we go to at least three times a week, has a wading pool.  It's not chlorinated, they refill it every day, so it's easy on the skin and nose.  It's free, and it's open 10-2, which is great.  I hate pools that don't open until noon.  That's naptime, dummies!  Yesterday after we picked up Ingrid from school we went over there.  She loved it!  So today we packed a picnic and a blanket and spent the morning there.  This little squirrel kept sneaking up on us, causing Ingrid to shriek in half delight, half terror. 

Both kids fell asleep on the way home.  I felt like a freakin' pack mule--I had Ingrid in the stroller along with towels, a bucket, our lunch, the diaper bag and a bag of misc. pool stuff.  Then I had Otis on me in the Moby.  It is time for a double stroller, my friends.  I cannot take lugging around an extra 15 lbs. this summer.  It was fun while he was a baby, but he's getting to big and squirmy for it to be his only form of transportation.  I swore I would never get a double stroller but that's why you never say never.  I'm hoping to find one that isn't too unbearable. 

And now we're off for a three day weekend, hooray!  Cookouts and family and Summerfest and fireworks and sun!  Happy 4th everyone!

An Ingrid Weekend.

This weekend was pretty fun, even though we didn't do anything for New Years.  We just hung out and enjoyed time with Ingrid, visited Otis, and did laundry, of course.  The weather was amazing on Saturday so we actually got out to go to the park!  It has been SO LONG since we've done that!!  Ingrid had a great time, but Brendan found out the merry go round makes him puke...

And might I share a nerd joke my husband made??  I said boy that merry go round is rusty.  Brendan said "It's a ferrous wheel!  Get it?"  Oh, chemistry jokes are just the best, aren't they??

Something else cool about this weekend, Ingrid has really gotten into drawing actual objects.  Instead of just scribbling, she likes to do smiley faces, and now has even gone into drawing legs and arms.  Today she drew what looked like Oswald the octopus, and when I said that, she immediately drew his sidekick Weenie the dog.  How clever!!  I know I sound like such a mom, proud of a stick figure her kid has drawn, but it's so cool to see her learning stuff right in front of my eyes!