Crocheted Hats and Conversations with My Fake Boyfriend

My friend Carrie crocheted the hats with the red initials Beeper and Mr Beeper are wearing.  They love their hats and like to wear them around our drafty old house.  She crocheted them during an afternoon she spent sitting on our sofa chatting with me while our husbands watched football upstairs and our kids made their own videos on an iPod, giggling hysterically the entire time.  I wish I knew how to crochet a hat in an afternoon.  

But what I really want you to know about Carrie is that she has this clever and funny Tumblr called Conversations With My Fake Boyfriend.  It features photos of guys--really attractive guys--and snippets of conversations she imagines they are having with her.  Here's a sample--a New Year's Eve post:

“Would I be standing in this library if I didn’t think staying in on New Years’ Eve wasn’t a capital idea? Wearing my jammies and smoking jacket? Of course not. Now put on your yoga pants, glug that Fresca and stay hip deep in your book, baby girl.”

I read it every day because it never ever fails to make me smile--plus it is a minimal reading commitment since it usually contains no more than 2-4 sentences.  Try it out--I mean, if you like to smile, laugh or just look at photos of hot guys.

Oh, and Carrie is actually a writer in her real life.  Her first YA novel is will be published this spring--it's called Sex and Violence--and yes, it does contain both sex and violence in the story.  You can find out more about Carrie right here. 

Color Around Here

Beeper's Strip of Color

Oil Crayon Rainbow

String Weaving

(A Wonky) Quilt Made for My Mum

People Rally

Perler Bead Circles

Perler Bead Squares

Lots of color going on around here lately.  Last weekend we found a large set of perler beads (Beeper calls them "melty beads") at the thrift store for $1.25, and new designs have been showing up daily.  Not sure what we are going to do with all the circles and squares (please share your ideas--tiny frames?  coasters with half-assed coverage?), but I am happy to see new patterns emerge daily.  And the throw--I actually made that for my mum for Christmas, from that Anna Maria Horner fat quarter stack I bought ages ago and intended for a quilt for our bed, but--well, it just found its way into a little wonky throw because I thought my mum might like all that color to curl up under (and let's be honest, I could not stand the silent reproofs that lovely stack of fabrics gave me every time I looked its way).  Oh, and the weaving set was an impulse Christmas gift for Beeper (bought it from Jack Be Nimble's brilliant little Etsy shop), one I second-guessed after buying, thinking he would never be able to slow down his pinball-energy long enough to weave a single row, or even have the interest--yep, I was wrong.  

What kind of color are you finding in your home this week?

Kids Crafternoon Blog Party and a Lucky Day Give-Away

Here I am, stop number 6 on the Kids' Crafternoon Blog Party--think of it as being a bit like a pub crawl, only with blogs instead of pubs, and kids crafts instead of shots of whiskey.  Yes, Kathreen is at it again--putting together more fantastic books of kiddo-friendly crafts--this time centered on beads and felt.

For this portion of the party, I decided to let Beeper and his friend, Ivan, take over--meaning I had them take a look at the books and pick a project to make for their own personal crafternoon.  They quickly decided upon the Robot Softie by Bianca Brownlow--which was a relief to me since they are 7 & 8-years-old respectively and it appeared to be a simple first sewing project.

Like any good little robot designer, I had them each start off by making a sketch of their robot and any special features they may have--like a yoyo that doubles as a weapon (always handy when bored and faced with a spot of trouble) that Ivan's robot sports , or the cell phone that Beeper's robot keeps handy in his chest cavity (I would assume for quick calls to his mom as needed).

Next, we cut out the felt pieces then I put them to work on the sewing machine--this was their very first time driving the sewing machine and they were naturals.  That is Ivan's mom (Hi Chellie!) there overseeing Beeper's work like a good sweat shop supervisor.

Next, I gave them a chop stick and had them stuff all those narrow little robot limbs--and again, they were pros.  Okay, maybe they got a little impatient with it after the second leg, and I jumped in to make quicker work of it--but still, for having the attention-spans of a tse fly, they were softie-making rock stars.

Et voila!  Their finished robot creations.  The best part was how very proud they each were of their work--Ivan declared he would be sleeping with his tonight.  And then they each took their robots along with them as dates to the Children's Opera performance we went to later.  

But, I suppose you might like to know more the types of projects you might find in these books--so, let me share a few of my own favorites...

From the Beading book: Woodland Beaded Cards by Sharon Baldwin; Lego Jewels by Nicole Vaughan; Push Button Canvas also by Nicole Vaughan; and Freckles Photo Frame by Lisa Tilse.

Oh, and look, its one of my projects from the book--a little bejeweled skull and crossbones tote.  Swanky, eh?

And from the felting book: Stitched Jewels by Cassi Griffin; Zombie Critter Charms by Lisa Tilse; Upcycled Sherpa Hay by Lisa Siebert; and Designer Wallet by Claire Dollan.

Oh, here's my project in the felting book--some simple felt cards.

You can read about the first round of Kids Crafternoon books here, and if you want to continue on with the pub crawl--I mean, blog party--you can party on at any of these swell blogs:

Monica Solorio-Snow from The Happy Zombie 20-Nov

Cate Holst from Go Make Me 21-Nov

Shannon Cook from Luvinthemommyhood 22-Nov

Jennifer Casa from JCHandmade 23-Nov

Kate from Picklebums 24-Nov

Steph Morgan from Modern Parents Messy Kids 25-Nov

Kara Fleck from Simple Kids 26-Nov

Li’l Magoolie 27-Nov

Jackie Boucher from Oh Dee Doh 28-Nov

Bianca from Sadie and Lance 29-Nov

Tricia Hogbin from Little Eco Footprints 30-Nov

Lisa Siebert guest posting at Poppytalk 1-Dec

And, if you would like to get your hands on a copy of either of these books--well, I just so happen to have a copy of each to give-away to two of you.  So please go ahead and leave a comment here telling me which book appeals to you most and whatever else you might want to share.  But you should do that by the end of the day on November 20th and I will try to come back promptly on Monday. to announce the winners (but please keep in mind my track record here--so, no promises)

And just in case you were wondering, the Robot Stuffies spin exceedingly well on the floor--clearly they are gifted break dancers.

You can read more about the Kids' Crafternoon Felting and Beading books over at Whip Up, and buy your own copies of the books here.   And don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be in the running for the book give-away.

Someone Lost a Tooth...

Not the first one he had lost, but he is pretty proud about losing a front tooth.  Me?  I am a little sad.  You know, just that usual stuff about life going by so quickly.  

July 4th

grilled and listened to records with friends

made vanilla vodka lemonades (recipe later)

went to the beach when it got too damn hot

ate drippy ice cream

visited an organic strawberry farm and picked 9 pints

made some strawberry-rhubarb jam

spent a lot of time at the vet with Socrates who broke his paw

That's what we did over our July 4th weekend.  What about yours?

The Birthday Invitation

We are in the midst of planning for Beeper's 7th birthday over here.  This is the photo that will go on the front of his invitation.  What was an interest in Legos in the past couple of months has evolved into an obsession so all notions of a HP wizarding birthday party were chucked aside in the interest of Legos. 

And if you are interested about the Lego figures above, some of the figures in the photo are from various Lego sets Beeper already owns, but many of them (the punk rockstar, the surfer girl, frankenstein, etc) are from the individual Lego minifigures (series 4) you can purchase for $3 each--we bought them as favors for the party. I love these figures (especially that gnome with the fishing pole--perhaps a favor for mommy?) but the downside about them is that they come packaged individually in little opaque bags and you do not know which figure you are purchasing--just that it will be one of the 16 that are part of that particular minifigures series.  Honestly, this really irritated me at first, but then when Beeper and I opened the packages together it was oddly thrilling to discover what each package contained--it is all about cheap thrills over here, people.  Anyway, you just have to be okay with the fact that you will likely have some duplicate figures (we did--the punker and the French artist).  

I will be back with more party details as we manage to work out what they will be--including how you keep Legos contained when you plan to have the birthday party outdoors at your neighborhood park.

Happy Day to All the Mamas

Beeper made this drawing of me and him under a sky that is raining hearts in a rainbow of colors.  Really, is there anything better than being a mama when you are the recipient of so much love?  Also, I like to see that he sees me as being so skinny with such long legs.  Lovely boy.

And as long as I am here writing about my boy, thought I would also share a little poem he wrote for Earth Day--because it may be my favorite ever creative endeavor of his so far....

IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD

If I were in the charge of the world

I'd cancel school and tomatoes and

really early mornings.

If I were in charge of the world

there'd be more dinosaurs and pet

octopus and candy every day.

If I were in charge of the world

you wouldn't have fruits or vegetables

you wouldn't have smelly socks

you wouldn't have shoes.

If I were in charge of the world

jellybeans and donuts would be

vegetables.

And a person who forgot to do their

homework and drink lots of water

would still be allowed

to be in charge of the world.

Hope your days are filled with some smiles and loads of love.  Everyone deserves some of that--but especially mamas.

Curse You, Tiny Foods!

Beeper made this drawing the other day at school.  Let me explain the finer points of drawing to you: the brown man running on the left is yelling, "Curse you, tiny foods!"(except spelled like only a 6-year old would spell it: crs you tine food)--while the a gang of food items flee with their arms in the air (from the left they are: a burger, a banana, a grape ice cream cone, a green bean and a carrot).  Of course, why wouldn't a series of little foods run away in what appears to be terror?  I guess that would be my instinct if someone was about to eat me.

Well, Mr Beeper thought this drawing was hilarious and could not stop walking around shaking his fist in the air all week and saying, "Curse you, tiny foods!"  So, naturally, Beeper and I had to make him a t-shirt with the drawing on it for his birthday--it was a collaborative effort--see above.  Yes, I photo-shopped the words in so they were actually legible.  Yes, the transfer we used turned out sort of rubbery and puckery around the edges.  But still, Mr Beeper loved it. Loads.  And it does suit him.

Made Over the Weekend

 This is what was made this weekend with Beeper--monster tee of his own design made with Crayola fabric crayons, and some of Sarah's Small Object Paper Dolls that were offered on Kiddley way back when Kiddley still existed.  I could have done a million of the paper dolls, personally, but Beeper had limited time for this exercise--he was more keen to keep on coloring the Harry Potter coloring pages I printed for him in the morning as a way to keep him occupied while Mr Beeper and I enjoyed coffee and muffins.  And about the fabric crayons I would say this--the colors they produce are quite dull, the image itself looks a little blurred from the original, and I really have no idea how well the image will hold up in the wash since the back of the box said to use all synthetic fibers (ick) for the best result --but for simplicity of the process (Beeper colored the picture, I spent 5 minutes ironing it on), I would give it high marks.  And he was eager to wear it to school tomorrow so there is that.  Just remember that whatever you draw will be backward once transferred--we made one colorful design that said I am awesome and I ironed it on another shirt for Beeper and then realized all the letters and words were backwards--so we just called it his secret message shirt because it can only read when you look in the mirror.  

Thumb Sucking: Your Advice

This is my boy.  As you can see, he sleeps with a little blankie-bear and he sucks his thumb--our own little Linus.  He began sucking his thumb as a baby, which, at the time, seemed really convenient since we no longer needed to worry about misplaced and dropped nuks.  If he wanted comfort, he simply popped his thumb in his mouth as required.  That was 5 years ago and my philosophy all along has been that he would stop sucking his thumb when he was ready.  I do not believe you can or should try to force this sort of thing on a child.  

Recently he has begun to develop an awareness that most kids his age do not suck their thumbs--he brought this up to me one night and we then spent some time discussing that he could stop sucking his thumb when he wanted and I would be happy to support him in whatever ways would help--so he made a decision to stop sucking his thumb basically during the day or in front of other kids, all on his own initiative, without any further help from me.  That was several months ago and he no longer sucks his thumb during the day--but does still at night, or when he is really tired.  

Then, on a recent visit with our dentist, as she was examining his permanent teeth coming in, she told me that she believes he will have perfect teeth (like his mama, I might add) that will not require orthodontic work--that is, if he stops sucking his thumb and soon.  His thumb sucking is already impacting his teeth growing in now and she encouraged us to work with him to stop.  

So, of course, Beeper and I discussed the fact that sucking his thumb may damage his beautiful new big boy teeth and that he might require braces later on and that it would be better if stops now, blahblahblah.  And he is such a conscientious child that with no further discussion, has since been trying not to suck his thumb at night--but the fact is that he just cannot seem to fall asleep unless he pops that damn thumb in his mouth.  So while he has reduced the amount of time he spends sucking it during our bedtime routine, every evening he will finally turn to me and ask, "Mommy, can I suck my thumb now?" (as if I personally have imposed a thumb-sucking moratorium) --and then once his thumb hits his mouth, he is out in 5 minutes or less.  Of course, I then slyly try to slip his thumb out of his mouth--which sometimes works, and other times he locks his arm up with the force of a world champion arm wrestler (in which case I leave it)--and I am sure his thumb is going back into his mouth during the night anyway....

So, my question to all of you mamas out there with thumb-suckers of your own, how have you handled this?  Any suggestions for how best to deal with it?  Is there anything you have found that works to support a child through making this sort of change in behavior and habit?  I hope it is clear that I am looking for a gentle approach to this--nothing punitive, nothing that will upset him--but I do want to help him and encourage him as I believe he has already decided for himself that he wants to stop sucking his thumb, but just cannot get past the falling asleep hurtle...so, give me your best advice.  I am eager to hear what you have found, tried and what you know.

End of Summer Cabin Days

(Lake Vermillion Beach Scene)

(Super Hero Sand Castle with Moat)

(Ludlow's Island)

(Beeper's Catch of the Day)

(Vanilla Vodka Lemonade with a View and Lake Shoreline)

(Little Angelfish)

(Black-Eyed Susan)

(Boathouse)

(Running Jump from the Dock)

(FlipFlops and Beach Grass)

(Sandcastle City and Mr Floatie)

(Blue Skies and Lake)

(Rolling Down the Hill)

(Full Canoe)

(Kid's Craft Play Boat)

(Flying a Kite)

(Best Friends on the Boat)

(Found Treasures)

(Prosecco on the Porch)

(Floatie Fun)

Some photos from our now annual summer's-end week at Ludlow's Island on Lake Vermillion in the northern reaches of Minnesota.  Ludlow's is the perfect blend of old authenticity and natural beauty paired with just a bit of luxury.  And the staff there are lovely--doing the little extra that makes it all work (like boating over a bottle of maple syrup to the cabin in the morning when we had hot pancakes ready but discovered we had no syrup to go with them).

 It is a full week of swimming, lounging outdoors all day, dinners at a picnic table overlooking the lake at sunset, s'mores in the fieldstone fireplace each night, and just the right amount of activity and doing nothing for big and little people alike.  This is our third year at Ludlow's and we will probably go back every year now for the rest of our lives--starting our own family tradition.   Oh, and if you are really into the photos, there are more here for you to check out.