Easter Bunny time

Running errands today, S and I went to a very, very quiet mall that's perfect for letting toddlers run around. There was a sign that the Easter Bunny was there, so I figured I'd see how S liked it:

She loooooooooooooved the Easter Bunny. Loved. Waved like crazy as she got near it, crawled right up on its lap, and occasionally stared at the camera. This was the best we got--the only smiley one was of her looking down.

As I waited for the photos to print and handed over our hard-earned money, S ran back to the Easter Bunny and played. I could have probably taken off for an hour or so and she wouldn't have noticed.

Yay!

April Family Fun

Since browing Pinterest (a LOT), I've found some lovely recipes, and decided to try one this morning. Just to get everyone level-set, here was our morning:

• Alarm goes off at 7am so I can get up and do a few things before I get ready for church
• Decide that I can go to church later and flop back into bed
• Small child wakes up around 7:30, but chooses to putter around in her room until 8:30 while her exhausted parents snooze
• Go in to find totally naked small child, new diaper in hand, telling me she's ready for "doo diaper" and "doo shirt" (that's new diaper and new shirt in toddler-ese). But no new pants. She is adamant. And brings her changing pad from the table so she can get changed on the floor
• Attempt to get small child to snuggle in the bed, at which point she flatly refuses and wants to go downstairs (said child yells "downstairs" multiple times)
• Take her downstairs and make oatmeal while Daddy gets ready for his "shift" (we split mornings and afternoons on the weekends so each of us gets S time and each of us can get stuff done)

At some point I decided I'd throw "make a blueberry cake" into the mix, and that doing it in between my shower and drying my hair was a fabulous idea.

So I head down to find J doing dishes, S playing in her learning tower (seriously, best $ we spent last year), and I want to make cake. We decide to make it a family affair.

S stirred the water and powdered buttermilk together, and helped me "dump" it into the mixing bowl. She insisted on adding the vanilla in as well, and grabbed quite a few blueberries to snack on along the way. The 3 of us were doing this fun little dance of adding ingredients to the mixer and getting our cake ready.

Then someone got to lick the beater:

At some point she tried to say "cheese" while shoving batter into her mouth

I really meant it when I said "no pants"

The cake took longer to bake than we thought, so J had to come rescue it from the oven after he dropped me off at church. But I think it turned out lovely

That missing piece is the bite I just had. It's a tad on the dry side, but otherwise delightful.

Good job Team L

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.