Day 5---9 Days of Easter Swap

Michelle and Ashley of the Tattered Quilt Cottage created our Day 5 treasure:

I am borrowing this photo from Wendy because she got a much better photo of this gem than I did.  I love chenille chicks and this little sweetie sits in a basket made from an tart tin.  So cute!!! Noodlebug was fasinated by all the details. Especially the little egg sitting next to the chick. (He is studying eggs and egg-laying animals in preschool this month)

Thank you to Michelle and Ashley for this sweet little basket!!!

Day 4---9 Days of Easter Swap

Look what my brilliant friend Kim made for Day 4!!!

My photo is horrible but it is a wee little chick on a wee little wooden spool with a flag that says Joy.  I love it!  It is so sweet! And a great way to use a baby food jar!

Day 3-- 9 Days of Easter Swap

I was Day 3.  My camera is missing so I am borrowing these photos from Michelle.

Noodlebug helped me stamp all the tags:

My friend Monique inspired me with a daffodil project.  I made these little daffodil shaped drawstring bags that would be perfect for keeping jewelry or small notions in.

Thanks for posting the photos, Michelle!


I am also finally up to date on my reading of SIMPLE ABUNDANCE. I am really really enjoying this daily inspirational journal. It has gotten me thinking about my personal style.  One of the exercises in the book is to start pulling out photos of things that speak to you. I just saw this cake in the latest Williams-Sonoma catalog and realized that it is the perfect cake for me. Not only is it chocolate but it looks like a pot of pansies!!!  Except for the price tag, this would be the perfect birthday cake for me.  (and my birthday is only a month away!) 

(photo borrowed from and owned by WilliamsSonoma)

Lovely!

Cutest Little Chick (?)

Well, we didn't win any prizes but we had a good time. And he is MY cutest little chick after all.

The theme this year was "Petaluma Takes Flight."  Here is the grandstand:

 

And here we are....he was a little overwhelmed by the cheering:

It was a great parade and fun time was had by all!

Day 2---9 Days of Easter Swap

I am missing my photo of Day 1 so I'll have to go back and do that one later. You can see Wendy's post of #1 here.  I made a little gift bag for everyone and put some Spring-like clothespins and an egg that I hope each participant will embellish and post at a later date.

For now....

This package comes from Wendy at THE FROG PALACE

Isn't that the sweetest egg?  I love the colors!  Thank you, Wendy!!!!

Nobody Here But Us Chickens

It's finally here!  The weekend our little town waits for all year.  Butter and Egg Days!!!  Petaluma is the gateway to Sonoma County and the economy of the town was originally driven by its production of eggs, milk and butter.  Butter and Egg Days were revived thirty years ago as a time to celebrate Petaluma and its history. There is a terrific parade with all kinds of contests on Saturday and then a lovely antique faire on Sunday.  Noodlebug will be competing in the Cutest Little Chick contest. I'm still working on embellishing his costume.  Hopefully, it won't rain on us and we'll be able to enjoy a lovely parade day.  I'll post photos on Monday. Wish you were here!!!

Ups and Downs

It was a challenging weekend. Noodlebug and I have been sick.  And we have also been engaged in a battle of wills.  I think I'm losing the battle.  Sometimes, I just want to hide under the covers. 

There were a few moment of grace.  One particular good one at the Zoo:

And my house was Easter Swap Headquarters:

 

I am so looking forward to opening these gifts!!! I had hoped to decorate for Easter this weekend but I just ran out of steam.  Maybe tomorrow....

Delightful Tea Tool

I have been rediscovering tea lately.  I used to drink a lot of tea when I was younger but I have recently heeded the siren call of Starbucks and become addicted to Peppermint Mochas.  (Or as Noodlebug calls them...Mommy's "Peppermochas")  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law gave me some Teavana tea and a tumbler for Christmas and I resolved to start drinking tea at work.  I'm getting addicted!!!  Loose teas are so delightful!  I keep having visions to instituting Afternoon Tea at my house on the weekends.  A pretty teapot with pretty teacups and some delightful tea cake or cones.  That probably isn't going to happen. But it's a nice thought. In the meantime, check out my tumbler:

I love it so much! It has a built-in tea diffuser and this thing keeps tea (and coffee) warm forever.  I'm not kidding. Yesterday, I poured my tea at 1:30pm and then forgot about it.  When I picked up the tumbler at 5pm, it was still almost too warm to drink.  Get your own tumbler here and check out the amazing Teavana teas while you are there. My favorite is the Lemon-Lime Kampari mixed with the Blueberry Bliss.


(This is a completely unsolicited post and I do not receive compensation in any form for it.)

New Addition

We have a new baby in our home:

During Spring Break, I took Noodlebug to get a haircut. He loves the children's hair salon we go to because they have great toys. As I was paying, I noticed he was very quiet over in the toy area. I went to get him and found him cuddling a baby doll.  I told him that it was time to go home and we needed to put the baby down in her bed. He was very distraught about leaving the baby. I thought about this a lot. On a day when he had been particularly good and we happened to be at Target, I took him to the baby doll section and told him he could pick any doll he wanted.  We looked at each one carefully and he picked the one you see above. It was even on sale. (whew!)  He made me open it as soon as we got in the car. 

For the first few days, he carried his baby everywhere we went.  People were surprisingly positive about it.  Only one dad asked me if I thought that was a good idea. I responded, "If my son wants to be a nurturer, I am going to support that in any way I can." It's a new world.  Men never used to be in the delivery room and now many of them are stay-at-home parents.  If I am ever lucky enough to be a grandmother, I want to raise a son who will be a loving nurturer to his family. And if I am lucky enough to ever have another child, this could be good preparation. It would be nice if someday we didn't designate toys as "girl" toys and "boy" toys.  And it would be nice if we gave men everywhere credit for being capable nurturers. We shouldn't pigeonhole anyone. Least of all children. 

These days, Baby sleeps with Noodlebug every night. He insists I make sure that she has her hat on and that I cover her up with the blanket.  I am disappointed that the baby only says "Mama."  Maybe soon we will start seeing dolls that say "Dada" as well.  In the meantime, Noodle is doing a great job taking care of Baby and I am proud to see him do it.

False Start(s)

There are several crafty projects I have been working on that just didn't pan out. 

FAIL:  I started making a Moopy bunny twice and finally gave up.  The arms and legs did me in.  When I tried turning them inside out, they fell apart.  Even when I enlarged the pattern. It just isn't meant to be.  This was going to be my contribution to my 12 9 Days of Easter swap. 

FAIL:  Then, I thought I would make everyone in the swap a little scrapbook using recycled cereal boxes. But they didn't look nice enough. 

FAIL: Then, I thought I would make one of Cathe Holden's wonderful shrinky dink bracelets with an Easter theme.  I just didn't like how my Shrinkys turned out.  Too homemade looking.

SUCCESS:  So, with a little help from a friend, I finally came up with something that I think will be okay. I can't show you the finished product because it's a surprise. However, I will tell you it has something to do with one of my favorite flowers:

FAIL:  I have also been trying to sew my mother a fleece jacket as well as a fleece robe for Noodlebug.  The jacket was moving right along until I broke off my needle sewing the hood onto the neckline.  Noodlebug's robe is cut out but that is as far as I have gotten.


SUCCESS:  I DID finish one of How Does She's balloon wreaths and I will post of a photo of that soon.


TBD:  I am working on altering a costume for Noodlebug for our town's Cutest Little Chick contest.  The theme is "Petaluma Takes Flight" so I'm taking a store-bought costume and modifying it a bit. 

Here is a photo from his very first Cutest Little Chick contest. My husband was so mad that Noodle didn't win that we haven't competed again since.  Until now.

So, I've had some hits and some misses in my creative life.  It's always frustrating when you have a crafting vision that just doesn't pan out.

Hopefully, I'll get out the Easter decorations this week.  I love Easter so much. It brings the promise of so many things and I always start feeling hopeful again.