making stuff...the party edition

Izzy had a party a couple of weeks ago dontcha know?

So, I knit her this hat.


Because I needed a good picture for this invitation. (her middle name is walker but I shortened isabella to "izzy b" awhile ago and it stuck :)


And I have a sewing machine that is begging to be used so I made this banner to hang some pictures from for a display of her first year in photos.


And then for favors, I made some fun pinwheels and clipped them to some brown paper lunch sacks that I sewed shut with my sewing machine. That thing is proving to come in handy.


I made this little cake too. My first buttercream frosting ever. And it was good. And buttery. And way pinker than I intended. But I never used a gel color before. Lesson learned.


She seemed to be fine with it though :)

making stuff...the patriotic edition

One day, I took Zack to Hobby lobby. And while we were checking out, he asked if he could have one of the bandanas at the check out. They were orange afterall. And, they had red as well. So, I could satisfy both boys and their color preferences for the rock-bottom price of 99 cents each. And, there was a third color - blue. So, of course miss Izzy could have her own color.

But why not get 2?


And turn it into the simplest little dress EVER.


Hem the bottom.


Create a pocket on top for the eyelet lace ribbon.


Seam the sides and voila! (note, I did not type "viola!" because that is a stringed instrument not an exclamation synonymous with "check it out!")

making stuff...the gastronomic edition

So I went out of town for a few days. I had good intentions of setting up a few blog posts ahead of time to post while I was gone but although I started 5, yes FIVE, new posts, none of them were completed and ready to go. I have a good start on them though so I should be able to get on a good roll this week :)

For this one, just a quickie. Another recipe that we really enjoy. I think I got it from allrecipes but I can't remember for sure! I realize it doesn't look like much in the photo but trust me - seriously delicious (as long as you like just a bit of heat.) I add some toasted sesame seeds on top and serve it over brown rice. Usually with some steamed broccoli (which hadn't made it to the plate when I took the photo.)


Orange Garlic Beef

• cloves minced garlic (you know me by now, right? yes, add more)
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 lb boneless sirloin steak cut into strips
• 1/2 t grated orange rind
• 1/4 C orange juice
• 1 T cornstarch
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 t sesame oil
• 3/4 C sliced green onions

1. Combine garlic, pepper and beef tossing well.
2. Whisk together rind, juice, cornstarch and soy sauce.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add beef mixture and onions - saute about 2 minutes.
4. Add juice mixture and cook until sauce thickens (about 2 minutes) stirring frequently.
5. Enjoy!

And, a few link shares:

love this jewelry collection

we don't really buy bottled water anymore but how pretty is this diy project?

how fast could I go broke on $25 hooded onesies? FAST. Especially Dandy Lions. And mmmh, Delicious. And Pillow Fight. And Be Cool. And. And. And.

making stuff...the notalgic edition

This is a blanket I finished a few months ago.

It's not really a pattern I would typically choose.

But my grandma was a knitter and taught me how years and years ago. She knit me countless sweaters and slippers and blankets. This is all I have left though. And, it has a hole in it.

I quit for more than 20 years and had to be re-taught. I wanted to knit something to connect me to my grandma and preserve the last gift she gave to me in some small way.

So, I found the stitch pattern she had used for the blanket, chose a yarn and set to work.

And now, it's done. And even though it was kind of monotonous, I'm glad I did it. Izzy sleeps with it now. And she seems to like it. That's all the validation I need.

making stuff...

So, I haven't had much of a desire to blog lately but I do still want to have this to look back on at some point. I'm sure I'll regain my motivation sooner or later so, in an effort to post *something* I'm going to share some of the stuff I've been making. I'll spread some projects out over the course of a few days in an effort to prove that I am still doing something :)

First up this little halter top for Iz. I seriously love this thing - I think it may be my favorite finished knit ever and it was SO easy that I'm thinking miss Iz needs a few more in every color of the rainbow. You can find the pattern here if you're so inclined to make one yourself - I knit it in the round because I prefer circular needles and am not a fan of seaming.

just seeing if it still works...

Hmmm, I'm thinking the blog may have run it's course.

After the previous post, I had a couple of people ask about the recipes I mentioned that we tried and really enjoyed. I'll try to remember to post about them as I re-make them. Here is one we tried that I made again last week. Super easy, all basic ingredients and it was even found in a weight watchers magazine. I'm not a weight watcher by any means but it was on the cover and I had to grab it.

Pasta. Yes please. Every day if possible.

Sun dried tomatoes? Oh yeah. Double the amount for me :)

And bacon. I could eat bacon at every meal. It is probably the sole reason I could never be a vegetarian...without bacon in the mix, I could easily be a veggies and pasta girl!


Bacon & Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

• 8 ounces uncooked multi-grain penne
• 1 (10 ounce) package refrigerated low fat alfredo sauce (such as Buitoni)
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomato, packed without oil cut into strips
• 10 slices of pre-cooked bacon (I bought regular bacon and cooked it myself though)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (much prettier if you sprinkle on top of your bowl rather than mixing it all in like I did :p)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper

1. cook pasta according to package directions; omitting salt and oil.
2. while pasta cooks, combine alfredo sauce and sun-dried tomatoes in sauce pan. cook over low heat stirring occasionally. 6-8 minutes or until thoroughly heated and tomatoes are juicy and plump.4
3. while sauce cooks, microwave bacon according to package directions. crumble bacon and set aside.
4. combine cooked pasta and alfredo sauce in a large bowl. top with bacon, basil and black pepper.

I bought the magazine for the recipe but I searched around and found it here as well - enjoy!

And, a few other links that I bookmarked just because and the old blog is as a good a place to save them as any!

• we LOVE Oliver Jeffers books and his site is gorgeous
• another book we love and are anxiously awaiting the movie release in the fall...waiting patiently for the movie tie-in site to go live!
• and while we're talking about books - have you ever ordered a blurb book (not one created from your blog) I adore this guys art and am so tempted to get the book. He has an etsy store too :)
• and while we're talking artists - I stumbled on her work somewhere around one of the billion blogs I like to ogle and really love it.
• and this site just makes me laugh :)
  
• has anyone tried this? does it work? I've never bought anything from an infomercial but I am so damn tempted (and, they sell it at Target so I could even pretend that I didn't buy some cheesy infomercial product)
• hehe
  
• I really dig this photo for some reason...aaaaaaand, I think I need to set up a photobooth for Izzy's birthday party (because I don't have a hundred other things to do for the party that are slightly more critical...like cook. and clean.)
• and these photos too...so awesome!
• possible birthday present? so fun!

OH! And one more thing...if you're a hybrid scrapbooker, check out this post for info about a current BHG call.

March...was a bust. Do something for myself every week? Yeah right. Moving on :p

I *did* have a "do something" goal for April even though I never posted about it. I cooked a different meal every night for the entire month. We had three leftover clean up nights...didn't want the food to go to waste! But I didn't repeat a meal the whole time. And we haven't eaten from a restaurant (other than the occasional coffee) in close to two months now. Feeling a little bit healthier and proud of myself for trying some new things (nothing complicated but we did discover some easy new favorites :)

For May, I want to sew something. I've had the machine for like 3 months now but haven't summoned the courage to try it out. I suck. I will sew *something* in the next two weeks though. And I promise to share it even if it looks like something the cat coughed up. I have a few fabric remnants that I bought to try some stuff out and plenty of inspiration. It's the skill and motivation that's lacking. It will come.

Miss Izzy turned 10 months a couple of days ago. Pure craziness, I tell ya. Still just two little teeth on the bottom but one of the top teeth is visible just under the gum. She's not thrilled with that. She's walking along furniture, starting to let go for brief moments, carrying stuff in her mouth when she crawls (no, we don't have a dog so the smarty pants figured that out by herself) sleeping in her crib all night and for one or two naps during the day, LOVING food - especially pasta (because she is mine through and through) saying mama and dada all the time, still not a cuddlebug at all watching her brothers like a hawk - she is so into what they are doing! Basically, we love her to pieces and am trying to stall these last 2 months before one as long as possible. Oh, and obviously, she's in that won't-sit-still-for-a-second phase :p


School is over in four weeks and in that time we have one day off (Memorial Day,) three field trips, a school picnic, field day, a kindergarten program, a graduation open house and an awards ceremony. How will I handle it when I have three kids in school AND involved in actual activities? I don't know how you all do it.

Yesterday was my dear husband's birthday (happy birthday, sweetie!) And we celebrated low-key with hamburgers and the richest chocolate cake ever. Thanks for joining us, mom and Scotch...errr, Scott.


And watermelon. Definitely can't forget the watermelon (looking forward to diaper changes today - woo hoo!)

so I really don't have a lot to say

I downloaded this ages ago and have played with it a ton (even did a couple of layouts using the results) but never thought to share here...check out Poladroid here :)

nine in, nine out...

This photo was taken on Izzy's 9 month "birthday" a couple of days ago - see the two little teeth! she's crawling like a champ, pulling up on furniture to walk along it and starting to let go to test her legs before plopping on her butt. Kid #1 and kid #2 were 10 month walkers so it's only a matter of time...sigh.
Also, how serendipitous is it that little missy moo learned how to say mama the same week I started putting her in her crib to sleep at night? (dripping sarcasm)

do something feb/mar

So, February the month has officially reached it's end but I'm still a bit short of reaching my goal. 24/28 notes written...4 to go. I'm not giving up! I've been saving all of the notes/cards/packages...piling them up so I can mail them all together. Honestly, the documentarian in me just wants a photo of all of them together :)

Since January and February were HARD and since my birthday is this month, I'm doing something fun for March. Something for me. Every week. Nothing extravagant (because 1. money and 2. my little missy moo joey that is attached at the hip) Like most moms, I feel guilty doing anything for me. But I shouldn't. Let's face it, I rarely even leave the house unless it's to take the kids to school or buy food. Getting out for a coffee and some quality time at the bookstore is an absolute delight. I thin I'll do that one week. So that's March How about you?

PIF :)

I have a vast and wide array of topics to blog about but this one is at the top of the list for the moment :)

Who doesn't love getting some happy mail? Something unexpected. Something handmade. Something that doesn't require a check to be written to some nameless jerk in Hoboken. My super talented and funny and beautiful friend G is on board for a fun pay it forward project she found on this blog. It's a total pyramid scheme but a good one where everyone wins :)

I signed up to get some delicious G goodness at three random times this year and it's my turn to pay it forward to my blog readers! So, the first three people to comment that they're interested will be on my PIF list. The only catch is that you have to promise to do the same on your own blog! I think in this economy, we could all use some surprise happiness every once in awhile.

And, to sweeten the pot, I'll let you in on a secret. I got a hand-me-down sewing machine yesterday so you might just find yourself receiving some horribly cobbled together crookedly sewn handmade goods. Now, before you all run screaming in the opposite direction, I promise to include something that's actually well made along with the botched sewing projects ;)

Who's in?

happy sunday...

Happy Sunday from Erica Hernandez on Vimeo.

(please ignore the mismatched clothes, cereal-stained shirt and drool-induced chin rash :p also, I didn't watch this before I posted because I hate my voice and probably would have just deleted otherwise!)

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq,

SIX (which is kind of anti-climactic since it's spelled the same in english and french...and here I was trying to show of my 8th grade french class skills...)

I was going to do a mid-month "do something" update but that will have to wait until tomorrow since a half-birthday is ever-so-much-more important :)

do something january: mid month update

**January 26, 2009**I'm keeping the original title (and post date) so you can see that I started working on this post like, um, 10 days ago. I actually had it pretty much done 10 days ago. I know you make time for the things you love but clearly, my blog is not on that list. I wish it were...like I wish exercise and regularly scheduled hair cuts were.

So who is with me on this still? Despite my lack of updates, I've actually made some kick-ass progress on my January goal. I haven't stuck *exactly* to the schedule every day but I've done pretty well and I wouldn't be embarrassed by any drop-in company :) Well, not embarrassed by my house at least ;) Here is what I went with for my schedule:

pick up daily; at least one load of laundry daily
monday - upstairs bathroom
tuesday - kitchen/clean out fridge/meal plan + grocery list
wednesday - groceries
thursday - dusting/vacuuming (I will NEVER be able to spell that word on my own)
friday - downstairs bath/laundry room
saturday - mop
sunday - strip beds

I also finally followed through with creating chore and behavior charts for the boys so they've been put on a regular chore schedule as well. They're doing great with it and it's making my life so much easier in the process.

Sticking to a schedule and a well-timed lull in "work" has had the unintended affect of creating a serious purge desire (less to clean and maintain!) Since the start of the year, I've also:

- shred paperwork (3 grocery bags full or old bills/receipts + another bag full of contracts and check stubs) I've been saving this stuff for like 3 years. I know, ridiculous. I never remembered to buy a shredder after our last one broke though. I did think to add it to my Christmas list though (thanks, mom!)
- donate clothes...I'm pretty good about doing this fairly regularly. Two more bags were donated this month though.
- cleaned and organized the pantry
- cleaned a bunch of junk out of Izzy's closets
- cleaned out the closet in the playroom/spare bedroom
- went though a metric butt ton of old magazines...tore out pages, filed them and donated the carcasses to the paper recycling bin at Jake's school. It helped that I had a supportive partner cheering me on. This pile is only about a third of the total. I may have a problem.




One with outrageous lashes.

So, with February just a few days away, I'm trying to decide on a new goal. More on that Sunday! I'd love to hear where you guys are at. Feeling good about your progress?

one week in...

2009 - a week in the books. How is yours going so far? I think everyone here is happy that school is back in. Ready for the tail end of winter (which I know is still far, far away but once the new year hits, we can be hopeful, right?)


This little girl had a bath in the BIG tub yesterday. Well actually, it was the little tub in the big tub (rather than the typical little tub in the kitchen sink routine we had up to this point) Because she is just so damn BIG that we can't do kitchen sink baths anymore. And although she technically can sit up, falling down is ever-so-much-more fun. These pictures were from right after her bath when she's so soft and good-smelling and happy. I always take these pictures after her bath :) Tonight, we start cereal. I always hold off until 6 months but she's just 1 week away from that mark and so completely pitiful every time we eat that I'm giving in a few days early. Tonight/tomorrow I'll be making some baby food to freeze so we have lots of veggies on hand for the coming days and weeks.

She breaks my heart with her adorableness.

So hey, did you know I have a couple of BOYS as well? They don't show up here as much because every attempt at capturing them in their natural habitat invariably ends up with a variety of goofy faces including but not limited to scrunched up eyes, hands over the face and some sort of visible tongue.

But look! Here they are anyway. Playing with the completely awesome microscope that mister J got from his grandparents (this was how we spent New Year's Eve day...before we all went to bed around 8 pm. We're crazy like that :)


But wait people, there's more!

Do you KNOW what those ARE?!?

SEA MONKEYS!

We haven't broke into them yet but we will...oh, we will.

January 1st always marks the day the holiday decorations come down. So far, everything is put away but the "big" tree. So, I figured this would be a good month to establish a regular cleaning & shopping schedule.

The rest of the day will find me finishing up the decoration storage, putting away all of the CLEAN laundry so I can start fresh with everything put away and a general sweep of the house. I already did a pretty thorough cleaning of the boys' playroom after Christmas to get rid of all of the broken/missing pieces/junky happy meal type stuff. Then later on I'll establish my schedule and get my grocery list started - so fun! ha.

I figure starting off the year with a not-as-fun month will encourage me to go strong so I can reward myself with a more exciting task next month! Plus, it will be nice to not freak when we find out guests are coming. I'd prefer a generally acceptable house as opposed to the "oh-shit-we-have-company-coming" emergency scramble cleaning I'm accustomed to ;)

So, for those of you playing along (and I'm so grateful that some of you are!) I'd love to hear what you've settled on for January!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

do something...

I don’t make resolutions. I'm too ADD to focus on a single objective for 12 months. I don’t want to feel bad about failing at something that should inspire me to better myself. I don't like trying to sum up my personal goals in one or two all-encompassing cliches. And "be a better person in every way possible" seems like kind of a lot of pressure to put on myself. But in the end, that's what we all want, right?

So, in 2009 I resolve to do something. Every month. Evaluate my life, where I'm at, what I'm doing, what area I feel needs immediate improvement and establish an intention for that month. It'll be a personal challenge to learn something new, get something done or just meet a goal that I've set for myself. Some will be fun...others will hopefully help me establish a routine that I hope to maintain.

I have a tentative list of things I might do but it's fluid and could change as the months go by. There is no set order to them and I've yet to decide what goal number one will be but I'll decide today and let you know tomorrow. You know, to keep me accountable. This is my tentative list of things I could do:

• maintain a cleaning/shopping schedule for one month (deep clean the bathroom every Monday; baby laundry every Friday; grocery shopping every Sunday...that type of thing)
• write a letter every day (this could be to friends or family or to my kids)
• cook a different meal every night - to force me to try some new things. we rarely eat out (OK, never) but no take out or fast food for dinner for a month. I'm good at meal planning and only shop once every 7-10 days but I tend to stick to the same things over and over
• learn to sew
• learn to screenprint
• finish the baby room (I know, I know)
• finish the boy room (even worse, I know, SHEESH)
• Christmas done in Nov (cards, shopping, wrapping...crafty stuff is still OK in December)
• journal every day (NOT blog...I will never commit to blogging every day)
• hang stuff - all of the frames, art, shelves, etc that I've accumulated but not hung
• mini-remodel of our half bath (paint/accessories)

So, there you have it. I'd love for one or two of my 5 readers to pledge to do something with me in 09. You know you want to.

so I'm really good at this sharing stuff, huh?

I have been doing stuff. I'm just lazy with the blogging bit.

Also, I have other important things to keep me busy.

Like this.
And this.
And this. (um, not for the profanity-phobe...but hi-freaking-larious.
And then there's this.

Sigh, so much to do every day.

5 months...

Tuesday, she turned 5 months old.

Today, she is miserable with a cold and pink eye. And yet, she still smiles.

Thursday, I took her into the doctor to get a prescription for eye drops. She gained a full pound since her check up just two weeks ago.


Which is weird because we can't detect even an ounce of pudge on her.

;)

Yesterday, she learned to wave hi and takes great delight in us reciprocating. I predict lots of waving in the coming days.

Which is fine by me.

Snow day yesterday meant I did not get out to finish my shopping. And, it means one extra day tacked onto the 16 consecutive days of nonstop brother in-fighting. Bummer (seriously.) We were bums. Today, a few craft projects (cardstock reindeer are under construction right now) and cookies. I'm also doing a few last minute simple crafty kind of things to include with the purchased gifts. I made my mom promise not to check out the blog until after Christmas so I could share them here (the finished product and the files.)

This is just a simple 5 x 7" calendar. I printed it on photo paper and added a sheet of magnet paper to the back for Proper Refrigerator Display Purposes. The circles aren't on the file I have here for download - those are just a way for my parents to know what days C works so they can plan stuff when he is off! Two files - the png is with the patterned paper and colors as shown - just drop in the photo. The psd is layered so you can choose your own digital papers and colors. Have fun!
png file

psd file

Oh! Also, I don't like to pimp myself out here on the blog but I have a kit at 2Peas to create a year's worth of calendar desktops for your computer. Would be a quick and easy grandparents gift or stocking stuffer for your spouse. Here is a preview (click the preview to take you to the kit on 2Peas.)