House stuff, Sewing stuff, Surgery stuff.

Doesn't our house look nice?  We painted the door red, which only looks good from far away, so don't come too close, lol!  And with the new numbers, some daffodils and tulips popping up, it looks so charming.  We planted some more things in the flower beds this week and are looking at getting a new light and perhaps painting the house.  Obviously that is not a high priority but we're looking at it...

 In the backyard we are planning a little deck.  Finally!  Of course, I had gotten a concrete guy to come give us an estimate and was all ready to pay him to get it done in a couple weeks, but then Brendan changed his mind and didn't want a poured concrete patio after all.  How frustrating, I just want it done!  Alas, I do think the deck will look nicer.  So I'll give him that.

 

Last weekend I had a craft show at Ingrid's school.  It was fun!  I sold a fair bit of things, and was able to stock up at the Waxwing afterwards, which means I don't have to do any more sewing for awhile, I'll be good until the end of June.

 Which is a good thing, as I go in for surgery on Monday...again.  Last summer I had a cyst removed on my throat and I was all excited to have it taken care of once and for all.  Then I got sick and guess what got infected again??  My throat.  Again.  BLARGH!  So I've been in and out of the ENT doctor for months trying to figure out what's going on, as this usually doesn't happen.  Cat scans and antibiotics, lots of bills.  And another surgery.  See how happy I am about it?

 Next week will be a blur of drugs and pain, but then hopefully it will really truly be done.  Done I say!

 

In other news, it's really spring here, and we've been enjoying as much time outside as possible.  I even hung laundry on the clothesline!  So excited for warm weather and summer.

Ingrid's birthday party is next weekend.  We are having 8 four and five year olds coming for a purple unicorn party.  We are making glitter fairy wands as a craft.  There is going to be glitter all over our house for the next seventeen years, I can already tell.  But look how happy she is.  I can't say no to that.

 

Spring Weekend

It's so funny how a little sun and warm weather makes everyone so happy.  Especially when you have shitty weather for most of your year, like we do in the midwest.  This weekend was like all smiles and sunshine and fun, because it was nice out.  We got a lot accomplished!

Saturday morning we went to the zoo.  We saw the baby jaguars, they were playing with their mama, it was pretty cute to watch.  We had a picnic and then the kids crashed in the car on the way home. 

Brendan took off the front door so we could paint it.  By "we" I really mean "HE" since he ended up doing all the work.  I chose the color. 

Our door had a funny panel nailed on the front.  Brendan said hey, I think this is really a six panel door, they just covered it for some reason.  So he took off the panel and found that they had filled in the panels and then nailed a piece of cardboard over it, painted the whole thing an ugly navy blue color or black that faded in the sun, and called it a day.  So...hours later he'd managed to yank all the junk out of the panels and today he sanded and primed and painted.  It's still drying, but we will have a nice six panel, classic red front door soon!

We also got new house numbers.  It's amazing how something so small makes such a big difference!  Our neighbors were like wow, we never even noticed our numbers before but yours look so great!  And the best thing is, they were $6 a piece from Home Depot.  Next up is a new light fixture for outside. 

The kids got their fair share of play, too.  Chalk, tricycles, playing catch with the dads, going to the park, and popsicles.  Not bad for a weekend!

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!!

 

 

 

Lazy Blogging

Sorry, people, just not feeling up to blogging lately.  We haven't been doing much of anything, just trying to get outside every day, dreaming of what we'll do when it's summer.  I have big ideas of raised garden beds, a patio with a fire pit, and a bright red door!  We'll see how much of that actually happens though, I guess!

 We had Easter at Brendan's parent's house.  The kids were excited to find the Easter eggs I hid.  Ingrid asked all excitedly "I wonder what's in them?!" even though she helped me fill them (jelly beans and pennies!)

 Brendan's aunt and uncle were in town, we haven't seen them since our wedding seven years ago!  Which means they'd never met the kids.  They brought them presents, it was so sweet of them!  Otis took to the blue doll and has been toting it around with him everywhere, along with the little bottle.  It was pretty adorable, as he was falling asleep he'd hold his baby, and every once in awhile he'd hold the bottle up and say "eat, baby, shhh."  Be still my heart!

Other than that, not much going on.  Just living life, enjoying April!

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!

Phones Are Great, Just Not For Blogs.

My mother in law asked why I hadn't updated the blog lately and I realized it's because I am never down in the basement on my computer anymore, I'm always doing things on my phone.  Which is great, but I haven't been able to post anything here from my phone.  SO...here we are.  Brendan is off today and the kids are up coloring Bubble Guppie pictures and I snuck away to the computer.

 

So what has been going on lately?  Last weekend I took the kids to my sister's.  We played with cousins and saw Gramma Pam.  We ate at Russ' which is a kid favorite, we thrifted at Bibles for Mexico which is a mama favorite.  It was fun!  The kids were awesome on the four hour drive and Chicago traffic was smooth sailing both ways.

 Other than that, not much has been going on.  Same old life of school, thrifting, sewing, and playing.

Ooh, wait, no, we got new appliances, thats's fun!  We had ordered a stove from Home Depot and when they delivered it, it was damaged.  Two weeks later we still didn't have a new one, and then it was a hassle to get my money back, it was just such a pain in the ass.  Finally we ended up going to Sears Outlet where they have all the scratch and dent ones, where we found our new stove AND ended up getting a refrigerator because they're such low prices, why not?  So we still ended up with dents in our stove, but we got it for way cheaper.  Ha!

 And...we got a new vacuum.  Life is good.