Crafty fun

First up, S modeling her new sweater. While captivated by Curious George

Next, I got crafty and decided to make homemade finger paints. Mix 1 part water to 1 part white flour, and have your toddler stir

Then add food coloring

From Pinterest, I found a mess-free finger paint idea. Put your fingerpaints into a Ziploc bag, tape to the table, and let your child go at it

This worked about a minute before S was screaming for the cups of paint. So I taped down some wax paper and let her have her way with it

A good time was had by all. And cleanup was a breeze

Progress

The painter came on Friday to get rid of our lemon yellow hallway and stairwell (even he said the yellow hurt his eyes).

Before

Doesn't the light give it a lovely neon look?

After

MUCH better. I'm painting the front door a peacock blue. Yay!

And I got quite a bit farther on S's dress:

The green will be a nice waistband to contrast with the gorgeous blue

And just for fun, some random toddler pictures

She looks so good in navy blue

With her new cutting toys. She could do this for hours...

Lent is awesome

Well, that whole fasting and no meat thing can be difficult at times, but giving something up can sometimes be quite productive.

I decided I was going to give up spending time on my public message boards for Lent. It is a major time suck, and there are still a lot of things that need to get done around here. Like laundry, and dishes, and knitting, and freelancing, and chasing a 2 year old around the house.

I'm still on Facebook, and I'm still in Pinterest (thank God the pinners I follow don't flood me with too many ideas ;), but that ended up freeing some time to get things done. Like

And

(Wow, I can see where I inherited my facial features)

And the laundry is almost done ;)



This one's for my brother

And Maw. And Joanne.

My family is very crafty and creative, and so is J's. Lots and lots of talent.

My brother was my Secret Santa in our family gift exchange this year. I think he had a little help ;) but he picked out some cool knitting stuff for me. This included a book chock full of knitting patterns, and some yummy yarn. One of the patterns is a button tunic for S (that picture does NOT do it justice). You knit a contrasting color at the bottom, then fold it up and secure with buttons. Instant pockets for all those things toddlers love to collect.

I started it this weekend:

It's going to be so cute. The pocket hem will be a coral-y pink. So girly :)

We also liked to buy gift cards to our local yarn shop in northeastern PA for J's Maw when we lived there. We figured it was a fun way for her to try out a new place and check out some fun yarn to make her creations. And I loved this store. Sad to say, since we relocated I just haven't found the same mix of hometown comfort and amazing knitting knowledge that I found there. Heck, the first time I took Maw, she ended up drinking tea and discussing bobbles with the owner.

Anyhoo, since we don't live there any more, Maw can't come shop, but she still had a gift card to burn. She gave it to me and said I should find something to make S. So I found a cool pattern, and some oh-so gorgeous yarn.

I started that dress this week:

It's not much now, but it's going to be fabulous.

Knitting and toddler update

I spent some $$$ on some gorgeous yarn last month, and knew I needed to get cracking on something for S. After waiting far too long to try this pattern, behold my first pleated skirty.

I looooooooooove the colors

Top view, showing the inside of the soaker

Blurry toddler pic on the butt

Showing off with Daddy

Love it with her legs!

BTW, the pattern I used was the Girly Girl Skirty Soaker, and you can find it here. 

Scenes from a second birthday

Eek! Our little girl turned 2

Just a little bit of a Sesame Street theme ;)

So excited

Her new computer

She took to it right away

Putting her puzzle together with Daddy

Love our birthday girl

Our little fencer

...and singer

Mommy made Sesame Street dolls

Someone loves her kitchen

'Nuff said :)

Randoms

• The new dishwasher is finally in. It has 2 small dents and we need S's tiny fingers to use the hidden controls (which was the point of having them, so S couldn't use them). But it's in.
• S has had a rough week where she HAD to have a parent sleep with her at naptime or bedtime. More at bedtime than naptime, which made for an exhausting week. But she seems to have turned the corner and went to sleep on her own tonight. Hurray.
• Boston broke a temperature record today, at 68 degrees. We spent quite a bit of time outside
• Somehow Season 3 of Sons of Guns started last week, and we didn't find out until today
• I watched a behind the scenes show about Downton Abbey, and I now feel like I get the gist of it. Which has now sucked me into watching all of Season 1. Thank you Hulu
• I am doing more projects from Pinterest than I thought I ever would. Huzzah.

The saga continues

Contractor came yesterday. With the wrong dishwasher. Again

Try #3 is Monday.