Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

ryderbday

We've been practicing levitation all week to get this picture.

I kept telling B and Peanut "It's Leviooosa not Leviosar"

I swear, they were going to poke someone's eye out.

Anyway, our little monster is now 2 years old!  
~sigh~
It certainly feels like two around here.  Ha!

IMG_7301

I bought balloons at 10:30 pm last night (in a fairly busy Party City, I might add)
so that they were all around the room downstairs and over the train table we set up last night.

We've had the train table for a while, compliments of my friend Kelly, but had never gotten around to laying down the tracks.

He was sooo excited this morning!
Talking up a storm about all his fun stuff.

2 years old, I can hardly believe it.
I vaguely remember that new baby smell.
He has so much personality and he's just so much fun,
I'm loving this age despite the streaks of crazy stubborn independence :)

Happy Birthday Peanut!
I hope everyone has a great Halloween and all you East Coasters are safe and sound!

Wingardium Leviosa... Wingardium Leviosa...Wingardium Leviosa

Monday, October 29, 2012

Adopt a Moster!

monster3

We had a great time at Peanut's 2nd birthday party and I'll be sorting through the 200 pictures I took (half of which are blurs of children running by) to show you the party.
The MONSTER CUPCAKES turned out great as well.

It wasn't enough that the party is a Halloween costume party.
We decided that we were going to run a monster theme through the party as well.

I'll be totally honest with you.
We decided this year's theme before Peanut's first birthday party.

I think originally I was looking at Ugly Dolls and decided I could make them myself.

IMG_8441

You see, this picture was taken August 12, 2011.

2011.

We were going to do monsters for his first birthday so I started drawing out some monster shapes.

My dad cut out all the monster shapes on various pieces of felt I purchased.

The day after he finished cutting them all out, my mom suggested that we do pumpkins instead.
It was going to be faster to sew a bunch of pumpkins for Peanut's Pumpkin Patch
and let the kids take one home as a favor so we went with that idea.

IMG_8813

Meanwhile, I got this one monster's face finished and packed it all away.

My mom reminded me that I would have the entire year to finish the monsters!
A whole year to work on this project so that I wouldn't be rushed.

monster2

And then life happened.

And then it was 3 weeks until the party and I procrastinated some more.

And then it was 2 weeks before the party.

Even though my mom reminded me weekly for months.

And then we spent 2 weeks feverishly sewing up monsters.

I did all the faces and mom helped me stitch and stuff.

monster1

The result was 22 completely individual monsters!

To be completely honest I had a lot of fun doing these.
I tend to get hung up on the details and I could have worked on these forever.

The hand stitching around the edge was a bit tedious at first because you can only do so many in a sitting but my mom was powering right through them.

IMG_7804

I got these awesome Monster Adoption Certificates on Etsy (Here) so all the kids could pick out there new monster and fill out their certificate.

I've been told that some of them are taking their adoption very seriously.
One little girl was overheard whispering to her monster that she'll be taking good care of him.

Of course, one little boy was seen using his monster to play zombie and eat the other stuffed animals.

I hope his monster is carnivorous.... and well stitched.

IMG_7793 IMG_7803

We displayed the monsters on a table for the kids to pick from.

So here are the details.

We used felt from the fabric store (not the crafters felt you buy in squares) and after buying some for super cheap from Joann's, I'm realizing my original stuff is much softer.

Anyhow, I used a standard size piece of paper and folded it in half (going either direction) to draw half a monster with the fold in the middle.  Remember doing hearts like that in school?

It's a monster so it doesn't really have to be symmetrical but I like them that way. 

IMG_7802

I cut the paper monster out and my dad used it as a template on the felt.
You can draw it directly onto the felt, just make sure you turn them so the marked part will be sewed onto the inside.

He cut 2 pieces of felt at a time to make sure that the front and back were even.

I then started to make the faces.  For the eyes I traced a water bottle cap and gift tag for different sizes, hot glued them on, leaving a space of no glue in the center so I could sew on a black button.

The mouths are sewn with embroidery floss (same as the button) and the teeth were made from the scrap pieces left when cutting out circles.  Some of the monsters have additional felt pieces like a mustache or lone eyebrow that are adhered with hot glue.

The possibilities are endless!  Just think about all the cute things you could do!

They were sealed up by hand stitching them along the edge with a running stitch, that looks like dashes, or a whip stitch that loops around the edge.  They are stuffed with basic polyester stuffing.

IMG_7790

It went pretty smoothly.

I found that the dark material needs to have a light background for the face as the black doesn't stand out and that some extremities are hard to stuff without the aid of a chopstick. 

I think you have to do these things to learn the easiest way.
 I will definitely be doing more of these types of projects.

I'm thinking maybe some Christmas plushies next.

Stay tuned for a post on Monster cupcakes and more on the party!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

All my parties start like this

IMG_7722

This was Saturday afternoon.

Peanuts 2nd birthday party is Sunday.

IMG_7721

I'm like the tasmanian devil of party preparations.

Today we did cupcakes.


IMG_7738

My friend Kelly came by and we created a bunch of monster cupcakes (each one different, might I add)
for Peanut's Monster Mash Costume Party.

It's a nice way to tweak the Halloween theme just a tad.


IMG_7736

We had a lot of fun making these.

I'm so glad I had the help because I always hit this creativity block about halfway through these things.

IMG_7641

This was a week ago.

More makings of monsters.

IMG_7642


I love these monsters, I can't wait to show you the finished products....

and give you a little tour of his party!

B & I also can't wait to give him his birthday present.

I'm getting super excited, I'll be back with pictures soon!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Zoomars!

IMG_7570

A few weeks ago my mom and I took the boys to Zoomar's Petting Zoo.

Last year they weren't even walking. 

IMG_0832

This picture is from our visit to Tanaka Farms.

One year and they are just too grown up.

hammy

Peanut adores animals and these are the most patient animals I have ever seen.

Since when do guinea pigs let toddlers hold them?

IMG_7605

These lovely ladies (or men) are half donkey and half zebra.

So cute right?

animals

Is it just me or are Emu's the creepiest looking things?

running

The boys ran through the little maze made of boxes
and had a fantastic time doing it.

The magic of cardboard.

IMG_7509

This is my favorite picture of the day.

Peanut was just heading into the little house when this guy popped out.

Do you see the look on his face?!

PicMonkey Collage

A huge bin full of corn.

By the way, do you see Peanut up there just rolling around in it?
It's the same with sand...
and dirt...
but especially sand.

IMG_7519

Hello there Mr. Turkey....how many days until Thanksgiving?


Sunday, October 21, 2012

During the house hunt

IMG_0017

First off, may I say that the housing market is not what everyone still thinks it is.
It's tough out there.

We saw a gazillion houses, some of which were very nice and some were very... interesting.

This has to be my favorite picture from our house hunt.
I could have created an entire blog on the additions built in this house.

For instance, after taking a look in their normal hallway bathroom, my mom turned to the right and opened the hallway closet......

to find this instead.

A bathroom.  In a closet.  Right next door to the bathroom.

I will say that with the 6 bedrooms, half of which were added on, in a slanted ramshackle way, they probably needed an extra bathroom.

Can you imagine going to the bathroom in here?

One dim over head light and barely room to breathe, let alone turn around.

I should have known it was going to be like this when I entered the "foyer" to find myself looking at what was perviously the front of the house.

How do I know it was previously the front of the house?

Well, because they didn't change anything.  It still had the exterior stucco, the porch light and a blank spot where they moved the mailbox.

I wish I had taken more pictures of this house but I think the one above says it all!

Friday, October 19, 2012

We've been fixing things up

IMG_0343

I don't know if you noticed but things are looking a little different on here.

We've been fixing things up and making some little changes.

I had a week or so in September where I could actually breathe so I thought I'd take on a few projects.
It's a sickness that I've decided is my mother's fault.
The inability to take it easy.

Anyway, we have a new lovely blog design by Tank & Tink Digital Design
 with some new lovely tabs at the top.

The Peanuttery is for all of you who come to see Peanut and hear about parenting fun.
I'll be honest, I'm toying with the idea of changing this one and making it just a parenting story place but with the amount of Peanut posts this may just have to stay as is.
I mean, does Peanut's sweet face and a post about mesh panties need to be under the same tab?

House to Home is going to be all about how we are making this new house ours 
and other designish fun.

Book Love got thrown on at the last minute when I was sent the final design with the books in the header.  It suddenly seemed silly that with one real book club, one online book club and at the very least 3 books read a month that it didn't already exist.
This will be my venue for all things bookish.

The Restaurants link stays the same and I've added The Hub for all of you interested in what else I'm writing at the moment.

IMG_0340

I'm all about fixing things up and making things work.

What's that you say?

Why yes, that is painter's tape holding Peanuts diaper together.
He ripped the original tab trying to pull it off.

No we could not just use a new one.
Have you seen how expensive those nighttime diapers are?!
Do you know how much of the environment was killed to create that thing?
I  can't waste it.

I know that makes no sense.
I know I shouldn't have brought up the environment.

Let's not fight now...
I was so happy to show off the new design.

Let's just stop and look at something pretty instead.
You can always scroll down and look at that cute little face to distract you from my mumbling.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Kelly Lombardo Photography

ryder_2yr_08

In just a few short weeks our little Peanut will be 2 years old.

It seems like just yesterday we were discussing bladder control during my pregnancy and 
I was having total meltdowns from lack of sleep.

Oh wait a minute, I'm still having total meltdowns from lack of sleep!
Remind me when I get to sleep again?

ryder_2yr_01

My dear friend and awesome photographer, Kelly Lombardo took Peanut's picture to commemorate his 2nd birthday.  We met at Central Park in Huntington Beach and walked around while she took pictures.

ryder_2yr_14

Of course, he was uncharacteristically sober-faced that day.

Seriously.

He would smile facing a different direction and 
would completely ignore us horsing around to get him to smile.

Even as an infant he was truly fantastic at ignoring me.

ryder_2yr_03

You see that look?

That look means, "I found some dirt and I'm going to make a big mess".

That look means, "I think I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing".

I see this look a million times a day.

ryder_2yr_02

I love these pictures.

I can hardly believe how grown up he looks.

I can hardly believe he's mine.

ryder_2yr_18

In this one he is yelling at me to pull faster.

I do hope he picks up some of daddy's patience in the future.
I don't have any to spare. :)

ryder_2yr_20

Always on the move.
and dirty.
and curious.
and dirty.
and smart.
and dirty.
and funny.
and dirty.


ryder_2yr_06

This kid is definitely a thinker.

You must check out Kelly's website at klycphoto.com.
She does awesome children, maternity, family, couple and boudoir photography.

It's the perfect time to take family pictures for those Christmas cards
 or boudoir pictures as a Christmas present!  

ryder_2yr_05

That smile.
It kills me every time.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Bibliophile Support Group

1

One fine day in August, my friend Ashley sent me a facebook message.

Ashley and I went to high school together and reconnected on facebook.
I'm not even sure we've seen each other since high school.. have we Ashley?

Somehow between facebook and pinterest and the great interwebs in general I feel that we're better friends now than we were in high school.  Isn't it funny how that works?



gg
August Primary Pick- now this is a great discussion book


Anyway, Ashley sent me a message saying something to the effect of...

Hey I wish we all lived close enough to be in physical book clubs but we don't and I think between all our friends we would have a really interesting one and I'm brilliant so I came up with the idea of an virtual one, so can you put it together?

Or something like that.  Only when she wrote it the message made sense and was more than one sentence.

30 minutes later the page was up on Facebook and a few days later we had something like 75 members.

This is how The Bibliophile Support Group was born,
 and yes the very brilliant Ashley thought of the name.

dis
August Secondary Book


So what is this Bibliophile Support Group?

It's a virtual book club where we gather to discuss books and book related things.

We vote on a poll to pick one primary and one secondary book for each month.

We've voted on them through November so that everyone has the time to get their hands on the books in time.  Occasionally the books are in high demand and the wait list for libraries runs long.


wolves
September Primary Book

We love book lovers, so if you'd like to be a part of The Bibliophile Support Group you can find us HERE or you can search us out on Facebook.

The_Phantom_Tollbooth
September Secondary Book

Each book will have it's own discussion under the Events tab.

We'll send out an invite to all members whenever we set an event/discussion up.

Feel free to comment on the book discussions whenever you finish the book.
Seriously, if you finish the book 9 months later you are still welcome to comment!
Only you know, we've only been around since August so that's as far back as you can go.

One of the reasons we set it up under Events was so that we would be able to keep a running conversation about the books individually without spoilers for those who haven't finished yet.

lets
October Primary Book

You can read both books or neither.

You can comment on all or nothing.

You can simply lurk around the club looking for your next good read.

  henr
October Secondary Book

We keep a list of the Monthly Book Picks under the Files Tab for your convenience.

The more people involved the more fun and exciting it is.

I'm constantly impressed by the thoughts and opinions of others and the ways in which people interpret the books that we read.

Some flat out hate them, some love them,
some could care less but all are super entertaining.

We discuss each book at the end of the chosen month (or very beginning of the following month).

age
November Primary Book

We'd like to cover a variety of genres so if you have any suggestions for future reads
please share them with us!

I'm loving the challenge of reading all these books and the new books that I'm being exposed to.

  westing-game1979
November Secondary Book

We would love to see you there!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Blogging tips