making—random craftiness

for christmas i made a few random crafty things. i didn't get a chance to snap photos of everything, but here are two. the first is one of the sets of handwarmers (pinterest reference), and the second was a doll made out of scrap fabric i had up in my studio.
sometimes i wish i could just sit around making random, one-off crafty projects for a living. i don't really have the attention span to a lot of the same thing over and over, but i really find that i enjoy making things so much more than formatting type (which seems to be mostly what i'm doing at work these days). maybe one of these days i'll get the courage (and enough time) to do something like that (that's what sites like etsy are for afterall, right?)

making—dishwasher magnets

while i had the paints out, i painted up some clean and dirty dishwasher magnets for mike's brother's new kitchen. they've got two dishwashers, so required two sets (don't you wish you had two dishwashers? though to be honest, i just wish i had a kitchen large enough for two dishwashers...and an island work area...and an under-counter trash/recycle bin...*sigh*)
anywho, i had a good time painting these up too. it's really relaxing to sit down and paint. plus, lucy enjoys sitting in my lap and napping while i work, so it benefits the both of us.

making—alice's cafe signage

when i asked missy about what sorts of things alice would like for her birthday this year, she said that they were getting alice a melissa and doug kitchen, so food toys would be a good gift. well, knowing that the jones clan already has a pretty well stocked pantry (i got to see it in action last time we visited), i wasn't exactly sure what kinds of food toys alice might need/want. so after looking at some different options and thinking on things, i happened on a couple of blog posts here that got me inspired (post 1, post 2, post 3), and i decided that i should make something that (i was hoping) no one else would duplicate. hence, alice's cafe.
i bought a wood plaque at michael's and painted it up. it took me a while to settle on fonts, and then a longer time to decide on the tea cup (missy said that alice has been serving her lots of flavored teas, so i thought this might be appropriate), but i really like how it turned out.

i also thought a cafe wouldn't be complete without a menu board (i got to use chalkboard paint for this one—i've been dying to have an excuse to get some chalkboard paint!)

lastly, i felt the cafe would probably need a sign so that customers would know when it was open for business. i got two little wood rectangles and painted them up and then stuck them back to back with the ribbon in between. 

i hope alice enjoys them. i really had a good time painting it all, and sam really enjoyed going to the store and helping me to pick out the wood and paint colors. he was quite excited by the time we got home and is hoping to visit soon so he can help out at the cafe. in fact, he was so enthusiastic about it all that i've decided to create some "sam's diner" signage (he's quite the imaginary chef around here, in case you were unaware), so stay tuned for that post later in the month!

project sam—47 months old

i decided i couldn't do a lucy update without doing one for sam, too.
it's hard to believe that sam is quickly closing in on four years old. it seems like only yesterday he was a little peanut of a kid. not anymore. this boy can talk up a storm about all kinds of things, chiefly star wars, angry birds, and the antics of all of his imaginary entourage (particularly "good darth vadar", luke skywalker, and oliver track, among others). he runs, he jumps, he climbs, and he still crashes with regularity (i'm anticipating his yearly trip to the ER right around his birthday). he draws and colors (lots of maps) and can write his name quite legibly. he's fairly good at recognizing all his letters (though he gets stage fright quite frequently). i think he's looking forward to going to preschool, as some of his friends from daycare have already begun. this week he was invited to his first friend birthday party (his friend gavin from daycare is turning 5!), so that will be a new adventure for him. he still puzzles with ease, and enjoys lots of (educational) video games on the computer and ipad.
sam is still quite a handful sometimes (mostly when he's avoiding quiet time or bed), but overall, he's such a great little guy. he loves his sister with ferocity and is anxious to have her join in his adventures. and i'm doing my best to follow along on his train of fun.

the lucy project—month 5

lucy at 5 months old:

• likes to try to sit up on her own (even though she's not quite ready yet)
• enjoys standing (while someone holds her hands, of course)
• still HATES tummy time
• occasionally likes being tossed in the air
• likes being sung to
• still thinks her brother is the best toy ever
• has had a few good nights in her very own bed (though she still prefers the company of her parents when sleeping)
• likes to chew, mostly on burp cloths and sleeves (despite the fact that she got a few cool chewing toys for christmas). still no teeth to speak of, but we're anticipating one any time now.
• coos, gurgles, and babbles with the best of them (accompanied by plenty of drool and spit bubbles)
• likes to twist and reach for things over her shoulder while getting her diaper changed (not sure what this is about, but i remember sam doing the exact same thing. perhaps she thinks we like a challenge. we don't. particularly when poop is involved.)
• very much enjoys reaching and grabbing (no dangly earrings for me for a while)
• is fascinated by patterns and pictures (she's always grabbing at prints or pictures in books)
• enjoys baby einstein videos (which sam still likes, so that's kind of awesome)
• takes the best naps when she's in a carrier (*sigh*)
• likes to play while sitting in my lap (which is why there's always a mound of laundry waiting to be done and floors waiting to be swept)

i'm sure there's more, but i'm trying my best to spend time soaking her in rather than making lists of her accomplishments. before i know it, she won't have time for me anymore!

blog bomb

one of my new year's resolutions is to blog more frequently so that i don't end up spending two hours looking through photos and figuring out how to do an update. i'm still not there yet.
here are a few photos to recap our christmas/new year activities:

little elf in her jinglebell hat • results from the strudel run on christmas eve

lucy in her fancy christmas dress (courtesy of aunt angie) • sam at the christmas eve service

a new red light saber (from santa) • sam and his two light sabers

christmas breakfast at g + g's house • grandpa gets lucy down for a nap with his jedi whistling powers

opening presents • christmas dinner (worth the wait!)

sam and his new star wars ships (awesome!) • getting ready for bed in columbus

back to columbus after the ikea marathon • clean baby for the new year

sam in his jedi cloak (from aunt missy—super stoked!) • grandpa wearing lucy's princess leia hair hat

aunt angie putting the love smack-down on lucy • lucy modeling the hair hat (ultra cute!)

lucy with two of her buddies (edison and brewster) • who's that cute girl in the mirror?

the puzzler and his puzzle • sam's "parking lot and map" picture with signature

look out 2013, we're here and we're gonna make it great!

what happened to all the bananas?

they all got turned into banana swirls, of course.

sam learned this recipe on daniel tiger's neighborhood a few days before christmas, and he was slightly (ever so slightly) obsessed with making them (despite the fact that he really didn't seem all that interested in eating them).

in any case, it was a fun activity. and luckily, i thought it was pretty tasty.

here's how you do it:

• take a banana and break it into pieces
• put the pieces into a tupperware and put them in the freezer
• after they're frozen (i can't remember how long we were able to wait before sam's head threatened to explode with excitement, i think it may have been four hours or so), toss them in the blender (i used my immersion blender) and swirl those suckers up until they're the consistency of slightly melty ice cream

it tastes like banana ice cream (but clearly much better for you than real ice cream. that is until you get the idea that it would taste like a banana split if you added some chocolate sauce, and maybe some peanuts, and a cherry on top...you get the idea).

now go and try it. you know you want to.