tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29645272803225915482012-01-18T22:35:57.860+01:00NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.comBlogger2861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-59686639246940326822012-01-18T22:35:00.000+01:002012-01-18T22:35:57.870+01:00

It's been quite a week so far. We've broken three plates, torn a hole (a big, mama cannot fix this hole) in a pair of pants, had countless melt-downs large and small. But also made a gorgeous pillow (pictures coming), tried and loved apple slice, whipped up another batch of bagels, cleaned a lot more than usual, taken Peanut for his first dentist visit, and finally, finally, finally, started a

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-40620923049786272332011-11-18T07:00:00.000+01:002011-11-18T07:00:01.261+01:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-61280281586300785192011-11-16T09:00:00.000+01:002011-11-16T09:00:05.819+01:00

On Sunday afternoon, we met up with a some of Papa's university friends in Cuijk (about 25 minutes from Nijmegen) to wait for Sinterklaas. That's Sinterklaas, not Santa Claus. It doesn't matter that they call him St. Nikolas in the songs – everyone swears up and down to me that they are not the same. Sinterklaas, as you may remember, is a retired bishop of Turkey who lives in Spain and comes

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-64963277226312109192011-11-15T11:22:00.003+01:002011-11-16T15:44:49.692+01:00

We have achieved two sleeping kids. All it took was a bit of exhaustion (Pumpkin was up for an hour at 4am) and a fever (poor Peanut). Nothing serious, but it will be a quieter day around here. Last week was more fun. Searching my mind and our resource for a project we came up with mirror prints. Sew Liberated's Painting the Sky inspired this project. Unfortunately, I have neither the weather

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-54503844277658014082011-11-11T22:41:00.000+01:002011-11-11T22:41:40.541+01:00

OK – two pictures this week! Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-22057994869880917602011-11-10T07:00:00.000+01:002011-11-10T07:00:07.902+01:00

All of this fabric went straight from the box to the shelf. It's a collection of new, thrifted, and gifted fabrics in all sorts of weights – from a voile-like weightlessness to canvas. I'm loving looking at it and wondering what it will all become. I'm not loving the fact that there isn't time to touch any of it just yet. There are curtains, peanut aprons, and a few drawstring bags waiting to

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-29621948390430142132011-11-07T22:31:00.000+01:002011-11-07T22:31:00.235+01:00

source: strandbooks.com E.M. Forster: Howard's End Ben Hecht: 1001 Afternoons in Chicago Jasper Fforde: One of our Tuesdays is Missing Peter Carey: Parrot and Olivier in America It was a pretty good reading month. There was some seriously good reading (Forster and Carey), some fun (Fforde), and a nice surprise (Hecht). Hecht's book is a collection of columns written for the Chicago Tribune in

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-69652350849318335222011-10-31T23:15:00.002+01:002011-10-31T23:15:52.001+01:00

I just did the dishes with one hand (my left) while holding sick baby in other. She's so tired she can hardly sit up, but too sick to stay asleep. It's been three hours of trying now, and still she can't manage to stay asleep in bed. So we're off for night three of probably only a little bit of sleep. Poor baby. We'll be really happy when Papa comes home!

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-81402978917316246802011-10-31T09:00:00.000+01:002011-10-31T09:00:11.918+01:00

I promised myself to blog every (week) day for a while and so far, so good. It's taken a surprising amount of discipline to do it, in part because the days seem to go on until about 9:30 or so, then cleaning up and then blog? Oh my. But it's been good. It's been very good. It's been a wonderful way to reflect on my life. It's given me a reason to get the camera out more often, to notice my life

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-42923316748238918892011-10-28T23:19:00.002+02:002011-10-28T23:19:19.034+02:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-60806091655376713162011-10-26T23:30:00.001+02:002011-10-26T23:30:48.943+02:00

We're surrounded by boxes. In fact, another 32 arrived today. We have one book case and about 30 book boxes. Sometimes it feels like the only thing we're making around here is the biggest pile of packing paper ever – to re-use... because we'll do this all again before too long. In the meantime, I'm using this little space as my cabinet of wonders. Wonderful things to use. Wonderful ideas to

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-31599556562538535402011-10-26T09:00:00.000+02:002011-10-26T09:00:06.460+02:00

I promised myself I'd get one, this silly, useless, pretty thing. Luckily I found it at the thrift store. Het Goed is good! Found any treasures lately?

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-61968109404494631762011-10-25T08:00:00.000+02:002011-10-25T08:00:02.585+02:00

I've long admired Montessori-inspired activities that appear to challenge all my ideas about what kids can manage, what they should be allowed to play with. The old “sure – give a 3 year old a knife” attitude is one I've had to cultivate. After a visit with new neighbors who have a whole box of adventurous “toys” including a hammer, it was time. A quick trip to the thrift store turned up

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-58481005130858804132011-10-23T23:16:00.002+02:002011-10-23T23:16:55.332+02:00

Sunday was Papa's birthday. In our house, you get to decide on the menu for the day. We had pancakes for breakfast and pork chops, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and roasted pumpkin for dinner. We also baked two cakes for Papa to take to work on Monday, a German cheesecake and a marbled poundcake. My special helper cleaned the mixer for me. Dinner was a huge success. Apparently, I need to

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-68080849436677981902011-10-21T12:54:00.000+02:002011-10-21T12:54:36.684+02:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-7381496856976363172011-10-20T00:01:00.000+02:002011-10-20T00:01:01.494+02:00

Here's Peanut's perfect-for-now art supply caddy. About a year and a half ago, I bought a set of Lyra Ferby colored pencils for him. It was a difficult but invaluable purchase. They have been one of our best kid buys ever. We received Stockmar Beeswax Coloring Blocks and Crayon Rocks as gifts. Having good materials has made coloring and drawing a lot of fun for Peanut. When he draws, he can

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-43441335400763232772011-10-19T09:00:00.000+02:002011-10-19T09:00:01.447+02:00

I saw some delicious looking savory rolls at the market and decided to try my own version. The dough is half of a batch of Tassajara bread made with 50/50 whole wheat and white flour and no milk (powdered or otherwise). Rolled out the dough, filled, and then rolled and sliced like cinnamon rolls. The filling is pesto, aged cheese (belegen), and walnuts. The result is delicious. One playgroup

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-16159056457525684672011-10-18T09:00:00.000+02:002011-10-18T09:00:09.321+02:00

I'm a stay at home mom. That's five days a week full-time at home with two kiddos and all the joys, diapers, naps, spills, breaks, laughs, quite moments, hugs, and nursing that go with it. Rhythm – reading about it, learning about it, and finally trying to practice it – become a guiding principle for planning our days. We are slowly building more rhythm into our family life. One

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-52704389160255763422011-10-17T09:00:00.000+02:002011-10-17T09:00:12.490+02:00

To our surprise and delight, we are living in an apartment in the middle of downtown. We live on the first floor. That's the Dutch first floor, meaning the floor above the ground floor. That's the American second floor. The ground floor is a shopping street. We enter the building from the side and this boardwalk area connects all the apartments. It's actually pretty neat. The

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-86767989424773069522011-10-14T13:04:00.000+02:002011-10-14T13:04:24.365+02:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-48004241756556752752011-10-12T23:18:00.000+02:002011-10-12T23:22:24.159+02:00

Last week, I showed off my little traveling bag – but the real secret is inside. This is the little bag full of big surprises. I made it last spring using the Weekend-away Travel Bag pattern from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing. The stitching on the outside was inspired by this skirt I saw on the always entertaining Myrtle and Eunice blog. It's made with IKEA linen and quilting cotton, so it's

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-43262845822559065362011-10-12T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-12T16:00:05.130+02:00

Monday: why we chose to plan a home birth. Yesterday: the birth story. Peanut was born in Haarlem, in the Netherlands; Pumpkin in Chicago, in the United States. Both have dual citizenship. He's kind of fair, like his father. She's kind of dark, like her mother. We're all perfectly balanced out in a silly story book kind of way. I love that our dual-nationality family has one child born in

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-19334701084753631642011-10-11T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-11T16:00:14.147+02:00

Yesterday: why we chose to plan a home birth. My midwife, Midwife S, took me on despite the fact that she had been planning vacation time for herself. She was out of town for two weekends right around my due date, but had a back up midwife and general practitioner lined up. I went into labor on a Monday while Midwife S was out of town. By 9 am, Midwife M, who was Midwife S's

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-75124902597337323212011-10-10T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-10T16:00:10.725+02:00

37 weeks pregnant and looking for a midwife – that was me this spring. This is the story of how we ended up having a planned home birth in Chicago. A home birth was never part of the master plan. My prenatal care was at a university hospital with a fine OB/GYN. We lived close by (perhaps even laboring walking distance). Insurance would cover a hospital birth. But it gradually became clear that

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-76708114534204247922011-10-07T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-07T16:00:07.393+02:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-28473554139258290782011-10-06T10:23:00.000+02:002011-10-12T23:15:38.398+02:00

I've finally worked up the courage to attempt a Pembroke vest for Peanut. It's a lot more fun and less frightening than I thought it would be. The cable work requires attention, but isn't actually too difficult. Placing a marker at the beginning of each pattern section makes it a lot easier to avoid – or find – mistakes. The shoulder shaping on this back piece is impressive. It's a

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-23865472699575446342011-10-05T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-05T16:00:01.755+02:00

It is a huge relief for us to be in our own space at last. When we left Chicago, we had no idea where we would end up. Our previous experience with apartment hunting in the Netherlands was not positive, so it wasn't easy to not worry. In the end we found a great place for our family to live. It's not close to trees like we dreamed of, though. Instead, we are smack in the middle of town. In

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-47224747813743817462011-10-04T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-04T16:00:02.612+02:00

Staying with the in-laws in September meant we got to pick pears from the same trees my husband picked from when he was a kid. Watching father and son go pear picking is just too sweet, especially because Peanut tends to stand in wooded areas and shout out with delight “we're in the forest!” Never mind that adults see a little strip of trees and bushes squished between a residential parking

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-38413302014679129172011-10-03T16:00:00.000+02:002011-10-03T16:00:04.587+02:00

this is the paper I'm spending the most time with lately A long, long time ago, I used to post about the books I read each month. It's time to revive an old habit that I quite enjoyed. Only now, I'm not the only one in the family reading, so I'll add some notes about what the little ones are enjoying as well. The List Paul Cohelo, The Alchemist Heleen van Royeen, De gelukkige

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-42581336534721385032011-09-22T23:28:00.000+02:002011-09-22T23:28:29.892+02:00

I'm still here. We're still here. Here is now the Netherlands. We are mid-move at the moment, staying with the Dutch grandparents after a month with the American grandparents. We're learning and exploring what “family” means. Figuring out ways to adapt to lots of changes while keeping our family together and working, loving, enjoying life – the four of us. Peanut is doing grand. He's

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-80507426269234480972011-07-12T22:10:00.000+02:002011-07-12T22:10:41.912+02:00

I just discovered, to my delight, that one of the witty and talented women I've met this year in Hyde Park has a witty and wry blog - Fancy Toast. If you're not feeling tempted to click on that link - you must. I only looked for a minute but saw (1) googly eyes on the back of one very cute baby's head and (2) recipes for parrot. She also managed not one but two husband compliments. I should do

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-85790839347327350982011-07-08T06:27:00.000+02:002011-07-08T06:27:29.339+02:00

We had a shocking development tonight. Two children were in bed at 7:30. Two children were asleep in their beds at 7:30. We went sat out on the balcony with coffee and date walnut cake and enjoyed the moment, talked about life, talked about changes coming and going, and took just a few deep breaths. Then we went inside and responsible Papa discovered Pumpkin, screaming in her crib, just out of

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-78891824229592433532011-06-20T07:44:00.000+02:002011-06-20T07:44:31.006+02:00

There has been an incredible fullness to our days lately. It's no surprise, with a new little sister, grandma visiting (again and thank goodness), friends to visit in Michigan, summer blossoming, and life happening faster than I ever imagined it could. We're trying to savor the moments. It is amazing to watch our family grow and grow and grow. And as if there weren't all enough - we're moving

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-70610004345384556132011-06-20T06:33:00.000+02:002011-06-20T06:33:28.524+02:00

I don't participate in many blog give-aways or contests. But when Benita at Chez Larsson challenged her readers to guess how many boxes she would need to move, I couldn't resist. Guess what - I was right! Go have a read and enjoy!

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-83448306180198618222011-05-13T15:00:00.002+02:002011-05-13T20:06:02.018+02:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-83402962199146653202011-05-11T15:00:00.000+02:002011-05-11T15:00:13.630+02:00

I have wanted a ring sling for a long time. We've gotten plenty of good use out of our wrap and Ergo carrier, but neither of them are particularly good for either quick on and off or putting a sleeping baby down. I've been following Danielle's blog closely and between her sling post and some encouraging emails (thank you!), she got me on track. Here's the finished product: It's made from a

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-56314484522769749832011-05-10T15:00:00.001+02:002011-05-10T15:00:14.760+02:00

We spend a lot of time at home and in our family, we wear comfy clothes at home. It's something I learned growing up. In our house, there were school clothes and home clothes. Back then (way back then), it was to keep our school clothes in good shape. Now, it's all about comfort. Through my pregnancy, I wore a pair of size large yoga style pants. Since Pumpkin was born, they don't fit quite as

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-1663428366170455182011-05-09T15:00:00.000+02:002011-05-09T15:00:11.894+02:00

Lest you think we haven't been craft, creating, and generally coming very close to making a huge mess, fear not! Days have really lost their shape lately, and making something is becoming an important way to mark that they pass. Without it, we get to Friday and I'm not sure where the time went or why I feel so tired. This project was a set of bags for pentominoes for the cousins in the

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-91745208783490619412011-05-08T15:00:00.001+02:002011-05-08T15:00:04.302+02:00

There was a surprise on the camera last week. This grandma and Peanut are special buddies. They spent a lot of time together this spring, partly because grandma came to visit for six weeks. She took amazing care of our whole family and the dinner guests we invited as well. This is my mama. She taught me to sew, crochet, and knit. She's a great cook. She's a fearless traveler. She's kind,

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-41021580169953178002011-05-06T21:27:00.001+02:002011-05-06T21:28:58.543+02:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-72913507568791067482011-05-06T03:05:00.002+02:002011-05-07T05:35:12.718+02:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Aftermath, originally uploaded by notablogger. Three mamas, three toddlers, three babies and every toy in the house on the ground. It was lovely.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-26732498627701102412011-05-04T00:26:00.000+02:002011-05-04T00:26:00.229+02:00

Pumpkin was sitting happily in a swing - for the first time. Peanut was working on version 42 of mega-lego parking garage and miscellaneous cars. I was hand sewing an inside seam on a zipper bag. Then Pumpkin started to cry. Cue Peanut, "Mama, I have to pee. I have to poop." Luckily, he can manage himself. I tell him to run over to the bathroom (which is about 10 feet away) while I pack up

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-40896742373201433502011-04-06T15:00:00.000+02:002011-04-06T15:00:11.552+02:00

I could have spent this afternoon doing something on my list. Let's see - there's the Summer blouse muslin, the pile of papers sitting on the desk begging for attention, moving pictures from camera to computer (always a chore), folding the laundry, emptying the dishwasher, putting away toys, or any other thing that seems generally mama-like and responsible. But I didn't. Peanut is off on an

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-12198968772008675962011-04-05T15:00:00.000+02:002011-04-05T15:00:07.727+02:00

With all the new baby excitement around here, everyone has been adjusting. Perhaps no one more than our faithful Peanut. His affection for his little sister overwhelms me at times. He always knows where she is, wants to hold and cuddle and kiss all the time, and expects perfection when we put her blanket down on the floor. Lay down a blanket with a folded corner or a careless wrinkle and he'll

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-50859464180824354302011-04-04T15:00:00.001+02:002011-04-04T15:00:03.884+02:00

My midwife's office is on the north end of Chicago. That makes it a great excuse to go see something new, which we did in spades last week. I've discovered my favorite Village Discount Outlet on North Kedzie. Both youngsters have benefited from this so far. Unfortunately, I packed away the yummy pink dresses (yup, you read right) right away. They won't fit for about a year. We discovered Toast

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-47615015728924166842011-04-01T15:00:00.001+02:002011-04-01T15:00:12.652+02:00

Super Papa comes home from long work days eager to cuddle, play, and spoil. He's a gift. Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-71435646517243097512011-03-31T15:00:00.000+02:002011-03-31T15:00:03.034+02:00

The crazier life gets, the more peace I find in stolen moments of crafting and writing. Thus this blog and creative projects become more valuable the more I neglect them. Enjoy the crazy logic there. Despite being an active boy, we've avoided worn out clothes because he's just grown too fast to wear anything long enough. That's changing as of now. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the knee of his

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-81777149572349439452011-03-30T22:11:00.000+02:002011-03-30T22:11:49.645+02:00

As if motherhood doesn't come with enough guilt - now I get to add the guilt of gleefully emailing our friends about Pumpkin's arrival and then failing to actually post pictures. Sigh. Well, our favorites these days are the "laying on the floor" pictures. 900 days old and 12 days old "Cutsie expressions" are also popular. 19 days old We also have the "laying on bed" theme. 22 days old

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-7203806743797700072011-03-21T14:42:00.000+01:002011-03-21T14:42:58.603+01:00

We're not particularly fashion forward around here at the best of times, but second-week-with-two-babes is a particularly bad time. I present the evidence above. That would be mismatched stripes paired with Mama-made-some-crazy-pajama bottoms. Topping it all off we have a head scarf from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. It was a nice easy with clear directions. The only problem is that apparently

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-67819393631119480372011-03-18T14:57:00.000+01:002011-03-18T14:57:18.241+01:00

Inspired by Soulamama's {this moment}.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-798377377145006932011-03-18T06:33:00.000+01:002011-03-18T06:33:04.710+01:00

For some reason... ...there isn't a lot of blogging going on around here, or much of anything else for that matter. I've got grand plans and plenty 'o pictures waiting to be loaded onto computer and then to blog. But, everything is in a holding pattern for now. Our little lady is quite the hungry one. She lets us sleep three or four hours at a stretch some nights, but during the day, she

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-81212245663785600762011-03-11T13:00:00.001+01:002011-03-11T13:00:06.767+01:00

How about one of those pictures that usually doesn't make it for public viewing? No infants (or toddlers) were hurt in the production of this image. Inspired by this.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-26799993010617787962011-03-11T04:04:00.000+01:002011-03-11T04:04:15.787+01:00

We're settling in to a bit of a routine here. That would be the diaper, nurse, sleep, nurse, nurse, sleep, diaper routine. Things are relatively laid back thanks to an incredible help in Grandma. She's our hero. Here are some pictures for your entertainment! Peanut participating in a midwife home visit. Our first outing - to the hospital for a blood test (ick). Just being gorgeous.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-60608052324482355712011-03-08T22:05:00.000+01:002011-03-08T22:05:40.156+01:00

We'll call her Pumpkin!

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-74362575927572072742011-03-03T16:00:00.000+01:002011-03-03T16:00:23.971+01:00

With Peanut, baby carrying seemed like a bit of an exotic thing to try. With Pumpkin on the way - it feels more like a necessity, a common sense way to deal with baby needs and adult needs at the same time. I went ahead and made a sling for myself using two different on-line tutorials. Pictures of that will wait until there's an appropriate model, though. I wanted to make one for Peanut as well

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-1340680388517115222011-03-02T16:00:00.001+01:002011-03-02T16:00:02.068+01:00

First of all, I love the fly away hair on that head. It's usually standing up or otherwise looking fairly untended, making it perfect for a toddler! It turns out that we are parenting a puzzle monster. We brought two nine-piece puzzles with us when we moved and I naively thought they would suffice. A couple months ago, though, he sat down at the table for an hour or so and figured them out.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-19811470571033150632011-03-01T16:00:00.000+01:002011-03-01T16:00:03.678+01:00

Here's another little finished project and a funny picture to go with it. The picture shows the men in our family doing what they do best - building with Legos and generally acting silly. Peanut, despite any evidence you might have seen here to the contrary, rarely looks at the camera for a picture. He also rarely sits still. Capturing as something other than a blur is always a bit of a triumph.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-11995943423129239152011-02-28T16:13:00.000+01:002011-02-28T16:13:06.793+01:00

No baby yet. Most of you can stop reading now. The rest of you - I subject to another project post. Seeing as how all I can do right now is count days (we're at 40+2 today), calendars seem just right. For the past three years, we have been totally addicted to a perfect refrigerator-sized calendar from Granit, a Swedish paper-goods/lifestyle store with outlets in Norway as well. It's a full year

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-34752315734349579402011-02-25T15:46:00.001+01:002011-02-25T16:25:36.940+01:00

Making for an auntie... Inspired by this.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-39979938779316464422011-02-24T17:00:00.001+01:002011-02-24T17:00:02.032+01:00

This time, I have a set of finished products! They are correspondence folders, inspired (again) by Amanda Soule. They are very late Christmas gifts for two lovely girls who always make me smile. My version has pockets that could work for cards, a notebook, and postage stamps. I thought about adding a pen holder, but figured it would only end up bulkier and bigger than it already is. The main

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-19204424104552223952011-02-24T03:40:00.000+01:002011-02-24T03:40:50.865+01:00

Someone suggested that I get back to crafting to distract myself from waiting for baby. That's exactly what I've been doing! Apparently, I'm not the only one who's feeling this urge. It's certainly more fun than cleaning house if one must nest. The first finished project I get to show you is a Throwing Bird. My dear, sweet Peanut is suddenly a throwing monster. He throws toys, he throws food,

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-55585219694171614722011-02-22T13:38:00.000+01:002011-02-22T13:38:15.213+01:00

No baby yet. Waiting, patiently (sometimes). Ready. Excited. Nervous. Sleepless already. Distracted. Wandering. Saturday is our due date. It's like having everything ready before a dinner party and the guests are 15 minutes late. What do you do with those last 15 minutes? You can't sit still, there's nothing left to do, and time stretches into infinity. Sigh.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-79730442821874690862011-02-11T17:29:00.000+01:002011-02-11T17:29:14.735+01:00

Inspired by this.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-87100946529383830632011-02-10T17:37:00.000+01:002011-02-10T17:37:12.916+01:00

I'm a voracious reader. Until January 2011. For the first time in years (maybe decades?) I went a month without finishing a single book. It's a bad sign. Carefully analyzed, this anomaly was the result of two things. The first was trying to push through two books that weren't right for me at the moment despite being good books. The second was not feeling like I had any other option. Luckily, both

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-50358356707538084962011-02-03T00:41:00.000+01:002011-02-03T00:41:21.031+01:00

We've been hearing all week about a blizzard coming to Chicago. Luckily, the weather did not disappoint. This was the view out our window last night: The Mama response to a snow day is to bake and do crafts, with good results. We got out yellow and blue paint. After laying on a thick layer and then smearing it with his fingers, Peanut tried scraping it with his finger nails. It was cool. The

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-31814242013865283012011-02-01T22:54:00.000+01:002011-02-01T22:54:00.889+01:00

We are actually expecting an addition to our family this month. January was the month of preparations and one of the nicest parts was making a baby's first sweater (Peanut had one, too). It's a super simple raglan cardigan using this pattern by Carole Barenys. Of course, only now that I'm blogging to I realize she has her own website. Anyway, it's knit up with Knitpicks Andean Treasure, which

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-22859958594736409152011-02-01T03:50:00.000+01:002011-02-01T03:50:49.305+01:00

After our last weekend outing, we opted for a warmed destination this week. While a tropical island would have been appealing, we happily settled for the Garfield Park Conservatory. It turns out, we weren't really settling all. It was nice, warm, and green. Peanut enjoyed the fish quite a bit. The glass art is by Dale Chihuly. I had never heard of him before our trip to the Meijer Gardens in

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-25629296310474828522011-01-31T04:07:00.000+01:002011-01-31T04:07:45.242+01:00

I took a few days off to regroup and succumb to just being plain lazy. But it's been a good weekend and there are a bunch of things I'm looking forward to sharing. So, here's a moment from our week. Inspired by this.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-48597519372585969512011-01-25T23:41:00.000+01:002011-01-25T23:41:09.018+01:00

This morning, a dear friend took Peanut to playgroup with her son. She's done this a fairly regularly for us and we both enjoy it tremendously. I usually try to be a good PhD candidate and spend the time working on research and writing. Today, I didn't. Instead, I went to my favorite cafe and had a hot cocoa and some reading time. Then I went for a wander in the bookstore. Didn't buy anything, of

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-46014718340632302972011-01-25T05:33:00.000+01:002011-01-25T05:33:23.567+01:00

This weekend, I frogged five skeins worth of knitting on a February Lady Sweater. It was a relief. It was becoming more and more apparent to me that however much I might like the pattern, it wasn't going to be a sweater I actually wore much. Here's a picture of how much work I'd already done. How did this all come about? On Sunday morning, instead of sleeping in, I found myself out of bed

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-88611904452501620852011-01-24T23:31:00.000+01:002011-01-24T23:31:38.331+01:00

This weekend we went to the Polar Adventure Day at the Northerly Island hosted by the Chicago Park District. They promised hot cocoa, sled dogs, and ice sculpture and they delivered. One of the nicest things about the event was that they weren't selling anything. There were no booths, crafts, vendors, food, etc. Just a nice outdoor experience. The Northerly Island is just south of Adler

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-8733803283602477682011-01-22T04:09:00.001+01:002011-01-22T04:12:39.952+01:00

The sun came out after a week of gray skies. "The sun is awake!" Inspired by this.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-48020988211200123102011-01-18T22:53:00.000+01:002011-01-18T22:53:20.831+01:00

Here's a picture taken from the window next to the desk on Sunday morning. It is glorious with the sun hitting the church steeple like that. This steeple is one of four we can see from this apartment. That's not counting the Sears Tower (they call it something else now, but they're wrong). We only discovered a couple weeks ago that on clear days we can see it from the dining room bay window. So

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-51794712018443889362011-01-17T23:01:00.003+01:002011-01-18T04:13:24.002+01:00

Based on the success of our cut and paste adventure, I thought it would be interesting to encourage a bit more glue play with a different project. We did alright, but it turns out that beans are more fun to throw on the ground by the handful (after dipping them in glue) than paste on paper. OK, there's no huge surprise there. The big surprise came later, when he wanted to draw. Peanut has been

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-81413810122604013812011-01-14T20:53:00.002+01:002011-01-14T20:58:01.171+01:00

He looked up at the wall after his nap and said, "bubbles." He was right.Inspired by this.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-516963098332322322011-01-13T21:11:00.000+01:002011-01-13T21:12:55.546+01:00

Cleaning naturally is nice, but it misses a bit of the fun. Beauty products, on the other hand, are a more entertaining, rewarding, and nice smelling undertaking.I've already made my own deodorant. Now, I've got a better recipe, though, here. It's less goopy and smells nice, too because of the essential oils in there. A little looking around revealed that Amy Karol of Angry Chicken has also

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-80156126595640043622011-01-12T22:38:00.000+01:002011-01-12T22:42:10.500+01:00

Since moving back to the States, we use even more natural products at home, in the kitchen, for cleaning, and for beauty products. This project has been on-going for a while now, and it has been wonderful to take some bigger steps towards realizing the goal of more homemade and more self-sufficient. It has involved learning about a whole new range of ingredients and techniques. We now keep a lot

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-9902974925532628182011-01-11T18:59:00.003+01:002011-01-11T19:08:00.479+01:00

Peanut totally understood when Mama put him in his sweater and asked him to stand still for a picture. Then he decided that he wanted a picture with the ukulele and took the whole photo session to a new level.This sweater was made using Knitpicks City Tweed DK in Romance. The color is lovely (papa picked it!) and it was nice to knit up. It looks like it may be starting to pill under the arms a

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-53386792759779074642011-01-10T22:00:00.002+01:002011-01-10T22:06:36.141+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got to stop in at the art supply store, where I bought Peanut's first pair of scissors. Whether providing a two-and-a-bit-year-old with scissors was wise or just nuts was unclear at the time. Luckily, it was not an ill-fated decision. Last week, we got out scissors, some old magazine pages, and the glue and had a grand old time.Teaching him how to cut was easier than I

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-58934035160483166752011-01-07T17:07:00.001+01:002011-01-07T17:07:25.319+01:00

One of the reasons it was so quiet around here in December is that we went and got to spend six days in the Dominican Republic. Our visit didn't come close to doing the island justice, but it was refreshing and fun. It's also a good excuse for a couple gratuitous happy Peanut in the sun pictures.We flew into Santo Domingo, stayed one night there, and then went north to the Samana penninsula where

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-84458336430697467102011-01-04T22:31:00.003+01:002011-01-04T22:34:14.866+01:00

This year, we are living in a rented furnished apartment in Hyde Park. The location is great. The working part of the family can walk to work in ten minutes and the working-at-home part of the family has plenty of kid friendly resources within walking distance as well. What we don't have is much of our own stuff. Buying things is on the "don't do" list because one way or another, we are moving to

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-13562829939720682792011-01-03T15:45:00.003+01:002011-01-10T22:08:06.318+01:00

After Sunday breakfast (Eggs Benedict and good hash browns at Medici), a visit to the playground, and a trip to Hyde Park Produce, we came home to enjoy lunch and the rest of our Sunday quietly, at home. I made a list of kitchen projects for the day.*Bread Pudding*Bread*Applesauce*Freeze pancakes*Freeze pastaMy life has changed so much over the past six months and this little list reflects back

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-46760475285627667502010-12-30T21:54:00.002+01:002010-12-30T21:58:21.498+01:00

December has been a busy month for this little family. In addition to the expected holiday fun, we went away for 10 days to Miami and the Dominican Republic to get some sun before the Chicago winter settles in earnest. We also got to enjoy a visit from my parents, who spoiled Peanut and myself with plenty of attention and help around the house, all while making our holiday extra-special.Yesterday

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-74437219606370650562010-12-07T06:05:00.003+01:002010-12-07T06:22:51.599+01:00

Made a couple of Sinterklaas hats for nephews in the Netherlands over Thanksgiving. They were so much fun to make. First of all, they're made with amazing "treat" yarn, Malabrigo Worsted in Charrua and Ibiza colorways. I've read a lot about how lovely this yarn is and it turns out, they're all right. It's wonderful. To my delight, each hat only used a bit over half a skein, so there's enough left

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-27473140502980101542010-11-18T21:35:00.004+01:002011-01-03T22:04:14.747+01:00

Made another Sweet Norwegian Baby Cap, this time for a good friend here in Chicago. It's a tad small on my model, but here you can get a peek at how it came out.This is a fabulous pattern, and really any yarn or combination looks great. I love this look with striping at the bottom and just the variegated yarn at the top. It shows how effectively the solid color makes the variegated pop as well

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-80063519479529950282010-11-12T15:45:00.004+01:002010-11-12T15:55:13.410+01:00

My notes on Ahead of the Curve by Philip Delves Broughton. I read this as light reading for my PhD work, but think it would be very interesting for a much wider audience.This book was a tremendous pleasure to read. I had not anticipated how engaging Philip Delves Broughton's tale of life as a Harvard MBA student would be. Broughton, former Paris bureau chief for the London Daily Telegraph who

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-38015102402291788152010-11-09T22:51:00.003+01:002010-11-09T23:18:26.599+01:00

I'm feeling particularly triumphant about my latest knitting project. Made mittens for Peanut and not only do they fit, he loves to wear them. The weather has gotten surprisingly warm here and he's still wearing them, so we had to leave them at home.These are made from some Mirasol Hacho 100% merino yarn I picked up in Oslo last winter. I bought 10 skeins and planned to make a sweater for myself,

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-41961624757327254762010-11-03T15:47:00.005+01:002010-11-18T16:16:27.562+01:00

We made Lavash crackers last night from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. They were cool enough to eat just after Peanut fell asleep. The Great Plan was to take a picture this morning once the sun came up. Impossible. We ate them all. Needless to say - a great recipe! We'll be making more again soon.

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-48511749949011233682010-11-01T20:15:00.003+01:002010-11-01T20:28:12.557+01:00

Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but it moved a few steps up the list after last night. We went out with Peanut and four other toddlers (plus their parents) for a wander down Harper Avenue here in Hyde Park. It is possible that half of the southside of Chicago also came by, because the street was packed! People put full effort into decorating and general preparation.Mama didn't plan a

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-78512666229783015842010-10-30T21:37:00.002+02:002010-10-30T21:43:56.559+02:00

You may recall a certain slightly pointy hat recently made for Peanut's birthday. What I didn't tell you was that Papa got a matching hat.To my amazement, I managed to convince him to put it on for a couple pictures. It came out well for a light-weight hat. He's not a fan of warm hats on account of ridiculous metabolism that means he always thinks it's warm when I'm freezing. Chicago winters may

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-56665007768430728462010-10-26T02:39:00.001+02:002010-10-26T03:59:54.988+02:00

I don't have any pictures of Peanut wet up to his knees from the massive puddles at the playground. Neither do I have pictures of his buddy who one-upped Peanut by crawling through the puddles. We do have a child who doesn't mind a shower instead of a bath nowadays, so at least the bathing before lunch scenario is a bit less traumatic now.I do have pictures of our afternoon kitchen session,

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-53883571158412828052010-10-18T00:40:00.002+02:002010-10-18T01:20:07.708+02:00

One goal we've been doing a fairly good job of meeting is taking Sundays for family outings and general exploration. Mama gets to sleep in (Papa gets Saturday) and we walk to breakfast right down the street. We have been to Salonica several times, but the past couple weeks, the new Z&H Market Cafe has been our stop. It's the difference between a diner and a gourmet cafe and lately I prefer the

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-72906297007863958662010-10-15T22:36:00.004+02:002011-01-10T22:07:02.117+01:00

We've been keeping busy around here - both Mama and Peanut. There has been some painting.This project was made possible by a very thoughtful gift from an artist friend. These Melissa and Doug Spill-Proof Paint Containers are fantastic. Peanut can pick them up, put his brush in, and pull it out on his own. It's got a funnel shaped opening that makes it easy to put a brush in and out, but nearly

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-79543548038685957752010-09-10T22:19:00.001+02:002010-09-10T22:21:23.941+02:00

Chicago: A Novel by Alaa Al AswanyMy rating: 3 of 5 starsAn interesting and unexpected perspective on life in Chicago. The particularly confronting race relations issue is actually black-white as opposed to Arab-American. Style took some getting used to. The device (build up to climax/cut to next scene) got a bit tiring after only a few chapters and made it sometimes difficult to keep track of

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-32698240295028099132010-09-09T22:13:00.004+02:002010-09-09T22:41:21.293+02:00

This week, Peanut had his first experience with water colors. Mama had her first experience with "messy" art at home - which turned out to not be so messy at all. In fact, the only mess we had was when I knocked over the water cup. Peanut was neat as could be with only a few smudges on his hands. He also got a good lesson in colors since he was requesting them by name. "That" and pointing at a

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-22579134923572779662010-08-30T13:47:00.004+02:002010-08-31T00:33:17.433+02:00

The tall ships were in Chicago this weekend, so we went to take a look. Apparently a good number of other folks had the same idea, because Navy Pier was packed! Being the kind of girl who is still amazed by crowds and adjusting to life back in the US, it was a bit overwhelming. We saw, the Chicago Tribune building with pieces of stone from all over the world, some ships, a Dutch family that moved

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-26971783237828478032010-08-27T19:20:00.004+02:002010-08-27T19:38:56.460+02:00

It's a sure sign that life is settling down a bit when there's time to make again! This morning, someone special treated me to a morning on my own and here's the result:It's just the kind of project that makes me smile - one that went off without a hitch! The inspiration for the skirt is one that has been my summer staple for years now. I adore the easy style and comfort of this skirt, but the

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-17788827588071110912010-08-10T20:04:00.003+02:002010-08-10T20:32:06.392+02:00

We decided not to have a car in Chicago. Instead, we live in the neighborhood where work happens and close to public transportation and our necessities. Coincidentally, The City of Chicago has a Bike 2015 Plan to help them accomplish their goal of becoming the most bike-friendly city in the nation. I'll have to check into the details to see if they have plans to deal with the snow we'll be

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-68405561245706292252010-08-08T19:50:00.004+02:002010-08-08T20:14:32.622+02:00

We've been in Chicago for two weeks now. This week was my first week of stay-at-home mama-hood. Not so easy, which comes as no surprise to me or anyone with experience in the field. When I get caught up in the new day-to-dayness of my life, it's easy to forget everything that has happened in the past couple months.Sold our home.Quit daycare.Packed up or sold most of our belongings.Left jobs.Moved

NotABloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16455166340919721385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964527280322591548.post-29005279060001301312010-08-03T03:42:00.003+02:002010-08-04T04:25:45.471+02:00

This picture just makes me smile. Peanut loves to draw and is now enthusiastically making "zeroes" both big and small with help from anyone he can convince to draw with him. I've been much inspired by Amanda Soule and her lovely post. When it came time to buy art supplies as an Easter gift, I decided to go ahead and spend on quality instead of quantity. The results have been outstanding.Peanut's

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