things that make me happy

My new bike.

I love it. After a lot of thought and research I found one that I really liked. I didn’t want the complete cruiser bike because I couldn’t control it at all, but I still wanted to be able to sit up and see. Papa and I went to the friendliest bike store in town (we have three and two are snobby) and they had the one that I liked. They fit the bike to me and voila I have a nice new ride. We are planning to buy a bike trailer for the kids because while A is a fantastic rider- his record is two and half miles- I worry about him trying to ride to some of the places that we frequent. I also am way excited to get a bike basket like this or this. My mom always had a willow basket on her bike (named Julie Andrew’s because it looked like her bike from the Sound of Music) and I always longed for a matching one.

My two new books.

Because I am a nerdy literature girl, I am ridiculously excited about my two new Jane Austen books. These are two books that I have not seen in print before (both are published by Barnes and Noble), so I am thrilled to see them. I am already about a third of the way through the biography and believe me that is saying a lot as I usually only get 10 minute snippets of time to read.

A’s foot was only strained, not sprained.

He was up and running the next day. Crazy, but I guess 3 year olds heal fast. We kept it bound and elevated almost all day on Saturday and alternated hourly ice packs and cold water foot baths. I didn’t even have to pull the arnica out, which surprised me (we’ve been using it a lot lately). But Sunday he was fine. Who knows, but I am thanking my lucky stars on that one.

Gorgeous, sunny days.

I love the end of summer days when the air is starting to turn slightly cooler and less humid. We spent almost the entire day outdoors yesterday, just playing in the yard or riding our bikes on the driveway. It is a lovely, perfect way to spend a weekend day.

what is going on?!

Another injury.

This time poor little A sprained his ankle. We don't even know what he did. He was playing outside and on the deck and then came in crying because his foot hurt. I'm hoping the run of injuries is over.

hello there!

Hello! It has been awhile since I have written anything, so here is a little update. W’s stitches healed up nicely and were taken out on Saturday. Of course he promptly came down with an ear infection, but that seems to be healing quickly.

A’s behavior has been really wild lately (part of the reason for lack of writing) and I feel like all I am doing is yelling and saying no. I want this to stop. It does not help the situation any; his behavior doesn’t change and we both get frustrated. I know part of it is his age and asserting his independence, but it just so frustrating to have him screaming NO!! at me, running away, squirting his brother with the hose, kicking, punching, not listening when I ask/tell him to do something, and so on. I think it even harder to deal with because he has always been a really sweet tempered boy and I am just at my wit’s end trying to cope with this behavior. (Though I must say he does behave really well when we go out or to a store, and for that I am thankful.) I know that last week was a really hard week for A. W got a lot of attention and Papa was gone for 4 days, but I still need to figure out how to calmly deal with his wildness without sacrificing our expectations of him behaving well.

As for other things, Papa got his new bike and I am hoping to pick mine out this week. We are really excited to become a biking family, as ours were stolen about 5 years ago. We live only a mile or two from the majority of our destinations and it just seems so silly to drive our car to places when we could easily ride.

And me? I had a nice day out with my mom and sisters driving a couple hours to go to Ikea (where I got a couple fun lamps for our bedroom) and some wonderful Waldorf stores. We stopped at Treecity Diapers to look at their toys and diaper stock.

We also went to the lovely Palümba. While this is really an internet only store, they graciously allowed us to shop in their warehouse. They are the makers of Camden Rose products and their wooden toys are absolutely gorgeous.

I picked up some paints and workbook, a birch watercolor board, super cute finger puppet, and W picked out his own spoon and whisk broom. (He loves to sweep and spent the whole time playing with the little broom and chewing on that spoon!) Oh! I also bought a yellow silk that they dyed on 8mm silk. I much prefer the heavier weight silk, as the 5mm seems to snag too easily. I had hoped to pick out a few toys for W’s upcoming birthday, but these will be most likely be saved for A’s Christmas gifts.

That’s all for now, and I hope it won’t take so long to say hello again!

not so great, then fun

Yesterday and today were full of not so great things. It is hard when you want to have a good time, but fate seems to be working against you. First we had to put my cat down yesterday. It was a really hard decision, but the right one. Then, I came down with a stomach virus last night, but felt much better this morning. Of course when I started getting ready this morning for a day out, W fell and cut his head. So I had to take him to the doctor for stitches. (This is after he crashed on the sidewalk on Thursday and scraped his face all up). Oh my poor babe. I felt just terrible for him, though he got over everything pretty quickly.



But the evening was better than earlier in the day. Papa told me to still go to the KT Tunstall concert that I had been really looking forward to. I'm hoping that the good vibes from the fantastic concert will keep me going over the next few days...

the taste of august

caprese salad.
both alone and

on homemade bread.

michigan peaches. full of

the taste of august.

a very late birthday gift

For my eldest sister's birthday (in June - sorry I was so ridiculously late in sending it!) I sewed a reusable tote. I based it on my Chico bag that I use all the time. I love how simple it is to carry in my purse to pull out whenever it is needed. So when I found this super cute plaid at the local fabric store it seemed destined to become a bag. It had a bit of stretch to it which is perfect for putting a lot in the bag. But instead of the little bag inside to stuff the Chico bag I used a ribbon to wrap around it. I love sewing different types of bags and would love to have this book.

beach fun

A fun time was had by all.

I'm hoping to have some craftiness to show by the end of the week.

sunshine and pancakes

After a delicious breakfast of cinnamon buckwheat pancakes, we are off to enjoy the sunshine and beach for the weekend.

Enjoy your weekend too!