Heart Baby Blanket

I'm saving up for my very first iPod. It was a hard decision for me because I could also use a few other items like another pair of jeans, shoes, stuff for the house, etc. Somehow I've justified putting those off for several more months so that I can have a new toy first. Part of it was looking back and seeing how much of my personal money (Christmas gifts, etc) has been spent on other people -mostly my kids. So I convinced myself that I deserve a new toy.

I actually told hubby that I was going to sell some of my yarn stash to raise a little money. Then I discovered a good amount of Yarn Bee Baby Bee yarn left over from a previous baby blanket. Enough to make a blanket similar to the one I made before. I figured a blanket could actually sell better than just skeins of yarn -some of which were partially used. Either way, it was fun to make.

I had fun with the double ruffle edging. I love how it looks.

It's finished. I'm happy with how it turned out. It's now listed for sale on Etsy.com.

Beautiful Blogger

Assuming she doesn't know many other Emilys (which is entire possible given how common the name is), my wonderful sister-in-law tagged me with the Beautiful Blogger award. I'm pretty sure it's not due to my diligence in keeping this blog well updated. But I do have two others that I keep for my kids (sorry, I'm not sharing the links) and am somewhat better at keeping those updated. Probably because my kids are the cutest things I've ever created and are much more fun to write about than crochet or any other craft.

I do have to thank my sister-in-law, not just for the award, but for her blogging as well. I don't think she knows how much I love her blog. It is the only blog that I check on a regular basis -almost every morning in fact. I realize that it took me almost a week to post this, but I read it on her blog the first day she posted it. I read her blog because it gives me a sense of normalcy. It's just nice to know that other stay at home moms deal with the same day to day annoyances that I do. It's not just that though. I love her sense of humor. It makes me laugh and cherish the remaining sanity that my kids have left me. It's also helped to realize what a great person she is. It's kind of ironic that when we lived close by we never became good friends. We both had a lot going on at the time and had we been at different points in our lives, things would probably have been different. So in case she doesn't know: Meredith, I am so glad that you are my sister-in-law. We're looking forward to seeing you and your family this summer. Thanks for your blog. I love hearing about your life -the crazy along with the fun!

1. Thank the person giving you this award.
2. Copy the award to your blog.
3. Place a link to their blog.
4. Name 7 tidbits people don't know about you from reading your blog.
5. Nominate 7 bloggers.
6. Place a link to those bloggers.
7. Leave a comment letting those bloggers know about the award.

I'm not leaving a link to anyone's blog for privacy reasons. I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to tag yourself and leave a link to your blog in the comments. Although an award probably should not be self-awarded, but be my guest. On to the 7 tidbits...

1. I hate wooden spoons. I hate cooking with them. I hate the feel of them. However, I do own several and I do use them on a regular basis. I just don't enjoy it. I'm really not that long suffering, there's just not a good alternative. Plastic melts, metal heats up, etc.

2. I am a home-body. I love to be at home. As much fun as it is to visit other places and cultures, I really like to be at home with my family. My mom was afraid that I would never leave home. She was sure I would live at home while attending the university that my dad taught at until she eventually married me off. She was really surprised when I went to school several states away from home and then served an 18 month church mission in Argentina. Despite a slight adventurous streak, I still like to be at home.

3. I hate discussing politics. I doesn't matter if I agree or disagree with the other person. I don't like the negativity of the conversation. It's not constructive, it doesn't do anything to help the situation. It just gets people upset, even if they agree with each other. I also refuse to tell people who I vote for, just like my mom.

4. I like trying different/new foods. I grew up a picky eater (and was subsequently cursed with a picky eater for a son). If it wasn't chicken (preferable white meat) than it wasn't a meat worth trying. I disliked most vegetables. Wouldn't eat seafood or anything spicy. There was a point when my mom was afraid I'd be put on an IV because I wasn't eating. Since high school, I became more willing to try new foods. I have eaten frog legs, escargot, baby octopus baked into a donut hole, calamari, rabbit, quail, alligator, squid jerky, fish with the head still attached, beef tongue, and tripe.

5. If my feet are dry and need lotion, it keeps me awake at night. That's not something I need when I already suffer from insomnia and a snoring husband. I keep lotion by my bed so I can apply it as needed. I even put it on twice one night this week. Granted, living in a dry climate really doesn't help much.

6. I have large feet. I'd be alright with it if I were 4 inches taller. But having size 9 1/2 shoes while you're only 5 ft 4 in just isn't fair. When I was young, my mom always joked about my foot size in an effort to desensitize me to others' comments. I think it just made me more embarrassed of my shoe size. I can't remember anyone else ever teasing me about it.

7. When we were first married, my husband didn't know exactly what he was getting to. My old roommates could have (and probably did) try to warn him. In person and to those that don't know me well, I'm fairly serious, with a dry sense of humor, and not all that talkative. But those that have lived with me (particularly during my first year of college) can attest to a very silly lesser known side of my personality. My husband first discovered it in the form of Jimmy the Sock puppet who was determined to interrupt whatever book he was reading at the time. He wasn't even a sock, but a small pillow case. I have also been known to bear-nap, play pranks, move furniture, steal light bulbs, and throw M&Ms.

Many Hoppy Easters...

My grandmother passed away a year ago. Some of my favorite memories of my grandparents were meeting them somewhere between our house and theirs to celebrate Easter. I remember more Easter mornings waking up in a hotel room than at my own home. Meeting in National Parks led to some very scenic Easter egg hunts though. Thanks to my grandparents' RV, our Easter dinner didn't suffer too much from being on the road. I find it an odd coincidence that both of my grandparents passed away just as the stores began setting out the Easter decorations and candy. I think Easter will forever remind me of my grandparents.

Last year at my grandmother's funeral, I inherited some really random items stuffed in a trash bag -thanks to my mom and her twin. A phone, pink towels (which my daughter loves), a red scarf, etc. Among those items that I got was a pair of pink striped socks. I don't wear pink and the socks are way to big for my daughter who loves pink. So they sat in my drawer for a year, until I found a cute pattern on familyfun.go.com. My kids and I made sock bunnies and I got to turn my grandmother's sock into a cute little Easter bunny.

His ears are a little wild, but he's cute. My daughter turned the match into a mommy bunny who has been taking care of my baby bunny. She's also named him "Crashina."

Decorating for a little girl

Since moving last summer, I've wanted to decorate and make this house feel more like home. We've been in apartments since we got married (8 1/2 years) and we love being in a house now. We're renting, so we can't do a lot to it, but that doesn't mean we can't make it feel like our own place. My son's room is really the only one that felt done to me. I realized it was because his walls were decorated and he had curtains up. It's amazing how much those two things can make a difference.

Since my daughter's room doubles as the guest bedroom, I decided to do her room next. First, I rearranged her wall stickers. My daughter had helped put them up, and they needed some help. Wall stickers are great. You can find them at the dollar store. They stay up really well and won't leave a mark or peel off paint when you remove them. Perfect for renters. We have butterfly and flower stickers in her room. Her dresser is also decorated with wall stickers and we added a pot of flowers on top.

My son picked out a poster to help cover her blank walls. You can also see some of her artwork that she posted herself.

I decided that she needed curtains. She has blinds on her window, but curtains can add so much to a room. I had some fabric that I got for free a year ago. The butterflies and flowers matched perfectly, but the colors did not. They're a little too retro for the bright pink and purple floral room my daughter wants.

So I painted the fabric. I painted most of the butterflies and used fabric markers to add color to some of the flowers. We also added pink sequins -not something I'd normal choose, but they suit my daughter's room and personality. The sequins didn't make it into this picture.

We also have the brick wall problem. We can't exactly nail or drill into it easily. Luckily this wall has a portion at the top that isn't brick. So my son (with some help from me) made letters to hang from above. We painted them and added flower and butterfly gem stickers. We used strips of the fabric from the curtains to hang the letters. The letters were his present to his sister for her birthday.

It may not be the best decorated room, but it's tons better than what it was and we did it all for under $20. Most importantly, my daughter is thrilled with it. I'm hoping to add a few more things when all the spring and Easter stuff goes on sale. It's a good time to buy flower and butterfly decorations. And then on to the living room...

Heart Baby Blanket

I've been working on a baby blanket for a friend. I thought I was doing great, finishing before the baby was due, despite starting late. However, the baby was early and I still had to mail the blanket. She was born on Thanksgiving and the blanket should arrive today. Oh, well. It's the thought that counts, right?

Here's the square that I used.

And the finished blanket.

Pineapple Upside-down Cupcakes

A great recipe from Family Fun Magazine. It took longer than I had anticipated, but that's probably because I had two young kids helping me. It was definitely worth the effort. They looked and tasted great.

All snuggied up

My mom also brought me some wonderfully soft Patons Divine in pink. It's not hard to guess who that will end up on. There's really only one person in this family that loves and adores pink.

Since we walk to school (1/2 mile each way), I wanted to find/make something for her that would help ward off the semi-cold morning temperatures that we get in Arizona. It may not get that cold here, but my daughter likes to dress for summer in the middle of winter. Life with her involves lots of compromises. A snuggie/slanket/sleeved blanket was one of those. So while I'm still going to have to fight with her about the appropriateness of skirts verses pants when it's cold outside, I can keep her somewhat warm regardless. And I won't have to worry about her blanket hanging out of the stroller and dragging on the ground. I won't have to keep pulling the blanket around her to keep her warm. Best of all, she loves it.

Five Baby Animals

A year ago, I started these cute little baby animals with big feet and a tiny body. I had great plans for them. Then something happened -life most likely- and I never typed up the pattern or finished the other little critters that I had planned to make. So after we moved and I found the little guys and some hubby added some encouragement, I finally got back to it. It's sad that it was so closed to being finished for so long. Now I can finally present my little baby animals.

I think the turtle is my favorite.

A little kitty.

An elephant.

A little bunny.

I also love the mouse.

The pattern for these little guys is now available to purchase at Em’s Emporium at etsy.com!

Still alive... and crocheting!

My mom (who was wonderful enough to come help us move in) brought me some yarn. Pink, variegated purple, and this -a thin chenille. There was a big cone of it, but having never used it, I wasn't sure how far it would go.

So I started a scarf. I tried a few fun patterns, but didn't like how they looked and ended up doing a sc, ch 1, sc throughout.

There was more on the cone than I expected. The scarf just kept getting wider and wider. It would make a great wrap/shawl or (since it scrunches well) it could just be a wide and very warm scarf. You know, for all those cold winter days that we don't have in Arizona. Maybe I should have put more thought into this project before letting it get out of hand. Still, I like it. It's soft and has great drape to it.