Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

Monday, January 31, 2011

The Triple Threat Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated all three cubs birthdays! Since their birthdays fall one week apart it made sense to just have one big party.

So now Nephew Bear is 3...


Tomorrow Big Sister Bear will be 2...



And Little Sister Bear will be 1 tomorrow...


The party went well. The cubs got great presents...



Had some very yummy cake...

 



And had their first pinata experience. Which we did not get pictures of because it took both me and Papa Bear to manage the pinata and kids.

It was a great day! And the cubs looked adorable in their appliqued shirts and tutus I made.

Pattern Pact 2:12

Pattern Pact is off to a great start. I can't wait to see what people are going to be working on for February. Beth made a snazzy group button for members to proudly display our pact.

Pattern Pact button

This month I managed to pull off two pact projects! You can read about the first one here. This was possible, in part, due to having two gift giving occasions in the same month. That coupled with the fact that I enjoy giving handmade much more than store bought.

I bask in those moments when one of my handmade gifts is opened and people start saying things like, "Did you make that?" or "Oh, how lovely!"

What can I say? I take pride in my handmade gifts. I feel if you're going to give a gift then you ought to take pride in it, especially if the gift is handmade.

Enough about that. Without further delay project #2...

...Mixy-Matchy Napkins from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing


This was an extremely easy tutorial to follow. I whipped up this set of 10 napkins in about an hour. I made them larger (16" square) than the tutorial because I wanted a dinner size napkin and stitched them with a contrasting thread.



These were a bridal shower gift for my cousin and his fiance. I wanted to incorporate both their favorite colors (red and purple) which was tricky because that color combo does not always work. I also had to include 2 napkins in Michael Miller's Love Birds for the happy couple. The pressure was on with this gift because my cousin is a stickler for color coordination. I'm confident that I chose well.



I will be making some napkins for our home very soon. They were so easy to make and paper napkins are so wasteful. Plus I have a ton of Kona solids that I think would be perfect.


Monday, October 4, 2010

I Love Carbs

I didn't do any sewing all week. Big Sister Bear was not feeling well and was permanently attached to me both day and night. It was the first time in a long time that she preferred Mama to Papa. This made me kind of sad because she was sick so I couldn't really take pleasure in her being so clingy and quiet.

Little Sister Bear was introduced to the sippy cup this week. She's been showing interest and taking the older cubs' cups. We took advantage of her interest since Big Sister Bear wasn't into them until she was fifteen months old.

It seems that the bigger cubs motivate Little Sister Bear. I feel as if she'll always be trying to keep up with them. This saddens me because it means that she'll grow up that much faster.


This weekend I used my bread machine for the first time. I've only had it for three years! When it was given to me I didn't have room for it in my teeny kitchen. Pepere Bear (my Dad) was a sucker for homemade bread so Memere Bear used it until we moved to a bigger apartment.

I used a boxed bread mix. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I especially liked that I didn't have to worry about timing the rising. The machine did it all. I put in the ingredients, pushed a few buttons and three hours later there was a fresh baked country white bread cooling on my table.

I can't wait to make one from scratch. I want to try honey wheat since that is my ultimate favorite. My hope is that there will be no need to buy bread at the store anymore. In our opinion REAL fresh baked bread is WAY better. I have a sneaking suspicion this machine will be running quite often.


In the photo above that pumpkin looking thing on the right is actually an ambercup squash. I didn't know what it was when I bought it, just that it was squash. And that it was grown at a local farm.

I cooked it the same way I cook other winter squashes. I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and pierced the skin. Then I put it in a baking pan, flesh side down with about an inch of water. After baking it for forty-five minutes at 350 degrees it was nice and tender.

Ambercup squash tastes like a cross between a chestnut and a butternut squash. It has a consistency that is slightly creamier than a chestnut. I mashed it up with butter, brown sugar and nutmeg. It was delicious.

Sunday morning Big Sister Bear tested out her newest dress up item...a tutu. I made it last weekend and it hung in my kitchen all week while I waited for a nice day to take some pictures. I decided to just let her rock it and take some action shots.


I love how poufy it is. And I love that she thinks she's a princess when she wears it.


She was dancing around and fluffing it. I think it looks great with her jammies too.


She was ecstatic.


She also discovered that it is suitable attire for cooking.


It's the perfect thing to wear for teatime.


Nephew Bear was all about the tutu photo session.  He posed (willingly) for a photo shoot too.


He's such a handsome, happy little goober. He insisted on trying the tutu. We let him so that he could get it out of his system. I did not take pictures if him in the tutu because I don't want him to hate me when he's a teenager.

He looked like Ace Ventura in the scene when they visit the mental institution. All he was missing was the boots.


Little Sister Bear just hung out in her jumper observing my paparazzi behavior. She patiently waited until it was her turn.


I love how she has the fattest legs that end with itty bitty feet and ankles. She is the sweetest little thing.


I have a bunch of things waiting in the wings to be sewn up. I'm also waiting on a package that should have been here on the 2nd! What's more frustrating is that it was missent and I can't get an actual person on the telephone over at old reliable USPS. I've sent an email to them via their online customer service department. Keep an eye out for my next post about how the books I ordered from Barnes and Nobel toured the country.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Pie, Picnic, Playground

Growing up my Memere was always cooking. She watched Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. She thought she was in heaven when the Food Network was added to the cable channels. She was somewhat of a foodie and taught me most of what I know about cooking. She also taught me how to improvise when things didn't go quite according to plan in the kitchen. That last one came in handy when I made an apple pie last Sunday.

A few things didn't go along with my plans. First, Papa Bear put the butter back in the fridge that I took out to make the crust. I improvised by using shortening instead. Then I peeled all of the apples by hand, when I remembered while peeling the last one that my Mother-in-Law bought me an apple peeler that works great. Finally, the crust wasn't browning like it should (since I used shortening instead of butter) so I turned the broiler on to brown it up a bit. I got sidetracked with dinner and burnt half of it. Despite all these silly things the not burned half was delicious.




This week I started putting together some baby booties. They were supposed to be finished for yesterday so that my Mom-in-Law could sell them at the local Chili Chowder Fest. I got them all ready Thursday night to sew on Friday. Friday was very busy and I didn't have the time to finish them. I'm considering listing them on etsy when I finish them. Well the ones I don't keep for Little Sister Bear that is.


Speaking of Little Sister Bear, she's got to have the most amazing eyes ever and be the messiest eater I've seen yet. She's so independent when it comes to eating and insists on feeding herself. She has quite a personality and is such a happy baby.


Yesterday the Nicey Jane picnic blanket got some more action. We took the kids to a local park, had our picnic and then went to the playground. Big Sister Bear and Nephew Bear had a wicked good time, especially on the slides. Little Sister Bear had her first playground swing experience.

I can't even describe how fulfilled I feel just watching the cubs running, playing and exploring. A feeling of being completely content as they roam freely and happily, knowing their imaginations are bursting with possibility.













I've got a few things in the wings waiting to be done so hopefully I'll be posting a bit more often in the near future. Until then...hakuna matata.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Anticipating Autumn

This weekend marks the final weekend of summer, Labor Day weekend. What can this mean? It means that my favorite season is coming!

Oh how I love fall. Especially here in New England. The days get cooler, which means I get to break out my beloved hoodies. The crisp refreshing breeze flowing through all the open windows. Apples, pumpkins and squashes are ripe for the picking. Making apple pies, apple bread, and applesauce after our annual picking trip up north. Warm, hearty soups and stews simmering all day, filling the bear den with the scent of deliciousness. Nature walks among the changing leaves. Playgrounds are not so busy because all the kids are in school. Harvest festivities commence. It's the best.

This weekend our bear den grew by one member. We have officially become our Nephew Bear's foster home! After months of waiting and going through the application process he was finally placed with us on Friday. I was there for the moment he came into this world and our lives, brandishing his mark upon my heart forever. Me and Papa Bear have always been there for him, so it was only natural for us to step up and take him into our home when the unfortunate circumstances called for it. He fits right into our little clan as the oldest. We now have a 2 1/2 year old, a 1 1/2 year old and a 7 month old! It's been an adjustment for us, seeing that we are now out numbered, but it's also the most rewarding thing we could be doing right now.

This past Saturday we took our family for a Day Out With Thomas. That's right, Thomas the Tank Engine was visiting locally! The cubs expressions were pricless. Nephew Bear and Big Sister Bear even went for a ride on Thomas with Papa Bear while I took pictures. Big Sister Bear kept screaching, "Tommy!", while Nephew Bear kept telling Thomas to stop because he thought he was steaming away.









We all had a blast. I think I might even like Thomas & Friends more than my cubs do!

Yesterday I cut out the flags for the fabric bunting I'm making for Uncle Marine's homecoming party on the 11th. I also sewed up a dress for Little Sister Bear and have a matching one cut out, ready to be sewed for Big Sister Bear. More on those on my next post.