SO Glad I'm Me, or, I LOVE My Life!

 I've been thinking of all the troubles I had when I was younger, feeling lost and like I just didn't know what to DO with myself.  Where did I want to live?  What did I want to go to school for?  What would I do with my life?  Now in my mid 30s I can honestly say I'm glad I ended up where I am.  I live in a cool neighborhood in a pretty great city, I'm married to a funny scientist, we have two amazing kids that make me happy about 99% of the time, I get to sell vintage kid's clothes and sew stuff.  I have it pretty good.

This past week has been HOT.  We got a cheap Slip'n'slide at Target and used it for hours at a time.  I even slid down it, it was fun!  The kids got a real big kick out of that, I'm glad there is no video evidence of it.

We've stuck to our no TV in the morning routine, well mostly.  Sometimes I have to take a shower and that is the easiest way to ensure I get all the shampoo out of my hair AND shave both legs.  I had cut out 4" squares from a whole bunch of my scraps to make a scrappy quilt or two.  Ingrid found the pile and has been having fun putting together her own quilt.  I cannot wait to teach this girl how to use the sewing machine!  She will be a natural I bet.

And we've been just plain silly stuck in the house with it being in the 90s.  We go out right away in the morning, try to get some play time outside.  Then it gets too hot to breathe, so we go in and cool down.  Again after naptime we try to get outside, but dang, it's been like 80% humidity the past week.  Uncomfortable.  And yes, I realize how funny that is that we midwesterners complain about how COLD it is and how much snow we have and then a few months later complain about how HOT it is and how much humidity we have.  I sometimes wonder why anyone lives here...

 This weekend we went to the cottage.  We brought friends, it was fun.  The kids all played, we went swimming in the lake, and this morning Brendan took each of the kids on a kayak ride.  The cottage got a face lift last month, doesn't it look nice?  It used to be white, I really like the creamy tan though.  And lastly, look at that picture of Brendan's dad and uncle!  Bob is the one on the right.  He looks just like what Brendan looked like at that age!  I love how there are just random old things at the cottage, you just never know what you'll find when you go searching through the drawers looking for clean sheets...

Catch Us if You Can.

Greetings fromTeam Liddle!!  It has been so blah around here, I really just haven't been up to doing anything.  But now I'm not sick, the weather is going to only get better (RIGHT??) and we're at the end of April.  Things are looking up.

 

We  have been enjoying our crazy weather.  It snowed the other day, but not as bad as in Minneapolis.  Sorry, Alisha, I really do feel for you!! Piles of snow in April is not what we like.  I got a jogging stroller, a Bob Revolution, and I can't believe I had two kids and never had one!  It is amazing, we have enjoyed taking long walks along the lake and even have jogged a bit, which Otis finds hilarious.  Definitely worth the money, that one.

 I finally got the kids all set for the rain, thanks to LL Bean.  Ingrid's dog coat is uh-MAZE-ing!  If Otis will wear pink dogs, he's totally getting a hand me down.

 

Let's see, what else?  I have my first show of the year coming up, at Ingrid's school!  Very excited about this one, I got everything ready right away and have been able to take some time off sewing for a bit.  Which is good, because then a very crafty friend announced a summer Maker Market in the neighborhood, first Sunday of every month during the summer, and I will be doing that!  Which makes four shows this summer!  I can't wait, it feels good to have a lot going on!

 

And then of course, we have a PURPLE UNICORN birthday coming up for a certain almost-five year old.  I never ever thought I'd be scouring the internet for sparkly purple unicorn things, but here I am...She is over the moon I found a unicorn pinata, dear god.

 

Oh, and I thought I'd share this find:  it's a Hoho!  There is a woman on Instagram that makes these and I have fallen head over heels for them!  They are just so cute, and one of a kind, she just makes them out of whatever fabric she has and each one is so charming and adorable!  She has a wait list you can get on, or if you're lucky enough she has flash sales during the week, but they go fast, like in 5 seconds!  I was lucky enough to get another one last week, I just happened to go on IG when she had just posted one.  It has cameras on it, it's so cute.  Otis has to have his Hohos to go to bed now, they are his best buds!

 And one last thing, sadly these banana seat bike pants no longer fit Otis, so they are going up in the shop!  If you know anyone younger than two, they may need these!  They are adorable and I am so sad they only fit him for a short time.  They look decievingly big, as they are high waisted.  I thought for sure they would be huge on him, but they were high waters on him and no longer fit over his skinny butt.  Bummer.  But good news for anyone looking for some cute vintage pants!

 Whew, there you have it, another mishmash, catch up post!  Enjoy!



Rain, Snow, Sun, What? Or, Let me Complain About This.

It's been raining ALL week.  Every day, rain rain rain.  I got Ingrid a pair of (purple, naturally) rain boots, but couldn't find a rain coat for her. 

I had a rain coat for Otis but couldn't find a pair of rain boots for him.  Do you know how RIDICULOUS it is that Target, a Minneapolis based store, doesn't carry season-appropriate clothes?  In March I needed a pair of pants for Otis, they only had shorts.  March.  March.  It is snowing out in March, I need PANTS.  Now it's April, and what is that old saying?  Oh yeah, April showers bring May flowers.  IT RAINS IN APRIL!  Which means people will be needing rain boots and rain coats.  But no...none of the above at any store in the Milwaukee area unless you want to buy super expensive things like at REI or similar outdoorsy store.  Which I do not, thank you very much. 

 

I am an Amazon prime member, so I always look there when I have to order something.  Even they didn't have any size 8 rain boots for less than $40.  Otis is my last kid, there is no one to hand it down to, I'm not doing it.  Sigh...

 

Went to LL Bean today, got a rain coat for Ingrid and boots for Otis and it took me five seconds to find what I wanted.  No browsing around, no price comparison, they were cute, they were on sale, call it a day. 

 

Anyway, complaint over, I think.  Just learning my lesson that apparently you have to shop for things you'll need in April right after Christmas...

 

In other news, it has been a bit schizophrenic around these parts lately.  After a few nice days where we went out without coats on, it rained for a week.  Then this morning I looked outside and it was snowing.  Then on the way home from running errands the sun was shining so bright I was blinded.  Now it's dreary and gray again.  Come on, make up your mind.  It's making us crazy!

The other day we got hungry for something sweet.  I had gotten a few new vintage Pyrex things at the thrifts, so we put them to good use.  My favorite recipe--the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook's One Bowl Chocolate Cake.  It makes an 8" square cake, which is the perfect amount.  We also made bright pink frosting to go on top.  Ingrid wanted purple but I wasn't up to the task of mixing colors so she settled for pink.  It was delicious.

This weekend is going to be very chill I can already tell.  I don't think any of us have any motivation to do much of anything.  We got the movie Cars 2 at the library this morning and we will be sitting around watching that.  The sun needs to make its way back out!!

 

 

 

Spring is Finally HERE!

We still have snow on the ground, but it's slowly melting and will hopefully be gone for good in a few days.   Today it's supposed to be 54.  I almost can't believe it, I was figuring we'd be covered in snow until July.  And then I think back to last year's Easter weekend and I am amazed at how late spring is coming.

LAST YEAR:

THIS YEAR:

 Our bulbs are just coming through the ground, and we still need winter coats and hats when we go outside.  BUT!  It's around the corner.  Warm weather is almost here.  ALMOST!

Rainbows, Bruises, and Siblings

We had a gorgeous double rainbow the other day.  You can't see the other one that was above this, but it was amazing.  It happened right after I put Ingrid to bed, I got her up from bed and she was all confused.  "Why did you wake me up to look at this?"  I thought she'd love it, I was wrong I guess...

Otis and I were playing ball the other day and somehow he face planted on the sidewalk.  Again.  I honestly do not know how it happened, one minute he was laughing and dancing, the next he was splat on the concrete.  His nose got a bit beat up...again.

Yesterday we did some painting early in the morn.  Otis is entranced by the finger paints, but he doesn't quite get that it goes on paper.  He also got one of the dot paints (like a big Bingo marker) and had a big smear of purple all over his cheek for the morning.  Apparently they don't wash off.

After painting we went outside to get some air before it rained.  We found all sorts of ways to get dirty before 9am!

 



Summer Came With a Vengeance.

Dang!  We never thought summer would come and all the sudden BAM!  Here it is.  Brendan said he saw it was 102 degrees by his work yesterday?  Crazy.  It's usually a lot cooler by the lake and it was still in the high 80s yesterday.  It's 7:30am and 80 right now. 

I don't want to complain because it is better than snow, but I hate heat.  Why can't our summers be breezy and 72?  I really hate sweating before 8am.

Yesterday we got a Slip'n'slide.  And then got home to find there was a broken piece on the hose that made it impossible to hook it up.  Blah.  Ingrid was so happy when Brendan came home and fixed it!

Otis was pretty much naked or in just a diaper all day long.  Favorite part of summer, seeing all those squishy baby parts unearthed!

All the bugs are out, too.  Ingrid is still slightly unsure of them.  They gross her out but she knows they're really not going to hurt her.  So she has to tell herself how cool they are.  "I can be friends with the ants, right Mom?"  We saw this huge dragonfly on our rosebush.  He stayed there forever, sometimes flitting away if we got too close, but always coming back.  We got to really look at him, it was pretty cool. 

Today is supposed to be a scorcher, too, so we're off to find something water related or in the air conditioning.  I would love to just be outside but it's so hard when it just makes everyone sticky and crabby...

It's Sunny! No, It's Cold. No, it's Snowing...

The past few days have been pretty crazy, weatherwise.  We had some super nice sunny days, where we were out in our tshirts and loving the backyard.  We enjoyed the flowers, took nice long walks, felt like winter was a bad memory.  And then this morning we wake up to...SNOW?  Huh?

Good thing we took advantage of the nice weather while we had it.  Our backyard is pretty great.  We have a nice big cement patio, great for drawing with chalk and riding the trike.  There's also a pretty good amount of grass and trees and flowers for exploring and rolling around. 

Saturday was our good friend Poppy's first birthday party.  Cupcakes, balloons, and babies, oh my!

Ingrid had a ton of fun, as usual.  That girl loves her cupcakes!  And I liked the fact that most of my mom friends here in Milwaukee are cloth diaper, baby wrap using crazies like me!  It was nice to sit and chat and compare which diapers our babes were wearing.

Otis was worn out after the party.  He and I cuddled on the couch afterward and I managed to sneak my way out of the blankets to take this picture.  He slept like that for an hour at least.  It looked so cozy.

And in sewing news, I finished my Sound of Music inspired dress for my friend's daughter's Sound of Music inspired birthday party coming up.  It turned out so cute, if I do say so myself!  Can't wait to see it on her.

But now it's snowing, and I have to get groceries, which means I actually have to get out of my pj pants and put on real clothes.  *Sigh* 

Messy Face

Two questions for you, Ingrid:
How does paint get on your nose?

Did any of that frosting get in your mouth?

Last night was lovely, we finally have nice weather again after days of rain.  Everything is nice and green because of the rain, though, so I really shouldn't complain.  I made chicken and biscuits with asparagus (which Ingrid saw and said "pinecones in the fridge, mama!") and a yummy strawberry crisp for dessert. 

After dinner Brendan took the wee one and the dog out to get some energy out before bedtime.  Didn't work, Ingrid was up until past 9pm crying and carrying on!  And then got up at 6am, it's going to be a long day...

It's Christmas, Y'all!

Here are some pictures from yesterday.  Brendan went to work late so I got to get some work done.  We got twinkle lights the other day for our shelf, so it looked all nice and festive. 

I got a bunch of coffee cup holders done for Applesauce Crafts.  Within five minutes of posting them for sale, I'd sold two!  Yay!

I also worked on the goody bags for the party on Sunday.  I need to get more goodies for them, but they are coming along nicely for scrap fabric and ribbon!

And finally, it is COLD here now.  Like windy blustery snowy cold.  I shouldn't say snowy, we only have a dusting.  If anyone's seen how crazy it's been in the midwest, we missed all that...I love how weather works, my family lives on the other side of the state like two hours away and they got dumped on and schools have been closed.  We, however, got the smallest dusting and that was that.  But it's enough for me to realize it really is winter...Ingrid and I got super bundled and took Cody out yesterday afternoon.  Thank god we have the ring sling.  I remember last year I couldn't fit the pouch sling over my coat or hers, it was too much fabric!  But with the ring sling we have tons of room for all the extra padding.