Sneak Peak - Waldorf Doll!

First up, here's a sneak peak at the Waldorf dolls I've been working so hard on - this one is Tobys...and actually, while it was my first try at the head, so far I think it's worked out the best. Not sure what I did different, but the others just haven't come out as well.

And this is the Tirmisu Blanket I made...just because. No recipient in mind, just had the yarn at hand and loved the pattern!
Ok, off to more spinning and doll making!

August Finale

Can you believe this is the last day of August already? Summer is drawing to a close and everyone is talking about Fall!

We had a beautiful farewell to summer (sounds so lovely, doesn't it? Really, we have a good month or two of summer left here, but I like to be poetic) at a local Lake Park Sunday evening. We met some friends from church (who have a canoe) up there and the kids had a wonderful time...well everyone did, really.



Let's see...here is a picture of all the veggies I have harvested from my "garden" this year....and yes, we split it 4 ways so everyone got a taste...
The kids coloring
My little princess playing cars :)
It's been a good August. I'm excited to see what September brings!

I have been working....

Just not posting!

I haven't even been taking time to photograph my projects - bad, I know! But I have about 10 minutes before I need to leave this morning so I'll type fast :)

I am prepping for a craft fair with several of my friends, and my number one item will be swiffer covers...super easy, but they tend to bore me, so after doing 8 of them, I'm taking a break this week to finish up my swallowtail shawl for myself...need it before fall descends upon us anyway! It's made of cotton, so not too not, but a nice little layer over my arms when needed. I have another night, maybe 2, of knitting to finish it up. I'm also doing some baby items for the craft fair - hats, socks, etc. Just a little of this and that. I will be working a lot more on those, but I needed a break this week!

Earlier this week I tried a few reusable sandwich baggies for hubbies lunch...I just got them washed and ready to go, so they haven't been tried out yet, but they look nice! And if they don't work for bread, they'd definitely work for chips.

Here's a picture of the alpaca I've been spinning and the new spindle I picked up while in Ohio. The alpaca is working up beautifully - I've finished my singles and wound them into a ball ready to ply, but just haven't had the time to ply it up yet. I don't have a project in mind for this - need to see what my yardage is first - but it will be something special for me.
I'm working on 4 Waldorf dolls - just got my materials this week and have 1 half done already. I will be taking lots of pictures of the progress and sharing - they are just lovely, and the fabric is very high quality - a dream to work with. I ordered from Dancing Rain Dolls, and am very pleased with what I got.

I'm also doing some sewing for the kids. Last weekend I made Toby a fleece sweatshirt for fall/winter - need to photograph it yet, but it came out very nice. I have material for another sweatshirt and a fleece vest for him, as well as some cotton for button down shirts if I get to it, and some corduroy for dresses for Lucy. So the machine will be very busy in the next couple weeks!

Last week one of my jewelry-talented friends helped me make some stitch markers - they are lovely, but I haven't taken photos yet - need to do that!

Ok, I feel better now that I've updated!

The beach in pictures

Ok, I've sifted and sorted and uploaded...and here is our beach vacay in pics

Lucy at the aquarium




Octopus swimming...very cool

Mmm...dinner.....


Lucy's first time at the Atlantic Ocean...Toby was last here in August 07 (when he was 18 months) so I don't think he remembered it.
Daddy and Toby on the ferry
Driving off the ferry

Hunting for shells


Enjoying the surf



While her expression here is questionable, she actually loved sitting in the waves
Flying a kite








Exploring the pier
Family picture

We had a great time and are exhausted today. Very much so. In fact, I'm thinking pizza delivery for dinner.... At least they did sleep in this morning...

Beach Mini-Vacay, Day 2

So last night was typical of 4 people in a hotel room, 2 under the age of 3. Lucy was up around 1:30, then the alarm goes off at 3:10, of all times, and Lucy was up again for the day at 6. Ugh. I can't wait until they are old enough to sleep well in a hotel room! So we had an early start this morning, to say the least.

We had breakfast downstairs here at the hotel, then went shell hunting on the beach. Just where we're staying is loaded with shells...I've never seen so many in one place. Further down the beach is a completely different story...more typical beach. But we could practically sit down and find all the shells we needed in one spot. Of course, Curtis and I were looking for shells in pristine condition...the kids were happy with any hard thing they found in the sand, so I'll have to sort them out once we get home. But with a bucketfull from this morning and a bucketfull this evening, we have plenty to fill a mason jar at home to remember our trip to Ocean Isle.

After shell hunting, we went to Jordon and Erin's condo to play in the surf. Boogie boarding again...always fun, and the kids had a blast in the surf. Lucy and Toby were both on the boogie board by themselves...both loved it, but Lucy was far more daring than her brother. But we finally got Toby on it and of course then he had a blast!

We dried off and changed for lunch. We went to a little town near here and had a wonderful seafood lunch. Curtis and I had the lunch specials, but he had clams and shrimp, and I had deviled crab and flounder, and we shared. And they had the BEST hushpuppies ever! After lunch, we decided to drive down to Myrtle Beach and walk a bit, hoping the kids would nap a bit in the car, and with some threatening clouds out, I did NOT want to be stuck in the hotel room due to rain! It did rain on us down there, but we had umbrellas so all was good. The first place we saw was a kite store, so we picked out a kite (a first for our family!) to fly on the beach later. We wandered around a bit and enjoyed how empty it was, thanks to the rain! Then we headed back to Ocean Isle.

We ate at a very kid friendly seafood restaurant tonight. Curtis had the mahi mahi, and while I LOVE mahi mahi, I kinda wanted something I couldn't make at home. And their lobster prices were very reasonable so...lobster it was! YUM! The kids of course had chicken and french fries. Heaven forbid they try anything else (to be fair, Lucy will try anything off our plates, but Toby is totally fixated on his chicken and french fries).

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to put the kite together, which took all of about 30 seconds, so we were soon ready for the beach. Curtis and Toby worked on the kite, and once Curtis had it up there, Toby took control. I never would have believed a 3 year old could fly a kite, but he did GREAT, let it up higher when he wanted, and reeled it in when he was done. Lucy and I hunted sea sheels again, and then Lucy got hideously sandy and wet and was just DONE. Poor kid was exhausted.

About then I notice a wedding coming down our beach access from the hotel...yes, there was a beach wedding tonight while we were on the beach. It was fun to watch - I've never seen a beach wedding before! Very cool.

And then it was back up to the room for baths and story and tuck into bed. They are in bed earlier tonight than last night, which is Very Good. Hopefully they sleep a little better tonight.

Tomorrow morning we check out of the hotel. We're planning to stick around here for lunch, then it's off to Oak Island to see my friend Sarah! I haven't seen her since my WEDDING, so I am psyched! And from there it will be home again, home again, jiggidy jig.

Whew, it's been a busy 2 days. I am REALLY glad that once we get home we have a whole weekend to recover from our vacation.

I See the Beach!

Well, not right now, sorry. But if we had a room on the other side of the building, I could sit on my patio and listen to it. You may get a good sense of how horrendous my typing is tonight as I sit in the dark, hunched over a keyboard lit only by the light of the laptop screen...because if we turn on a light we might wake sleeping children, and let's face it, there is never a good reason to wake sleeping children...unless you're going to the beach!

We were up bright and early this morning - before sunrise - to get going on our little mini vacation. We headed to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, which is south of Wilmington. Curtis and I had been before, but I don't think we've ever taken Toby, and bonus, as NC Zoo members, we all got in FREE! Gotta love that! I have TONS of pics, but until they got on the computer at home they are staying locked up - but I will post them once we get back home. We saw sharks, rays, pufferfish, eels, seahorses, and an awesome octpus who came out and swam for us (and yes, I got pics!). We were even there for the dive show in the main tank.

From there, we had to stop and see the ocean before lunch, so we made a break at Carolina Beach State Park to get our toes sandy. Toby loved it - "The waves are on!" was his first response! Of course, we didn't stay dry (oops!), so toby had to change clothes before we got back in the car. We headed to MickyD's for a fast lunch, then headed for the ferry to Southport, on our way to see Jordon and Erin at Ocean Isle (the main reason for our impromptu trip)

We didn't know what time the ferry would leave, but happened to get there 45 minutes before the next scheduled ferry, but..all the tickets were sold. We were next in line and were told if there was room we might get on. So we waited in the heat. The poor kids were so bored, and I was really hoping we'd make it since it was another 45 minutes until the next one! But alas, we did make it on, and Toby had a ball! He loved exploring the ferry with Daddy and Mommy and Lucy found a nice spot in the shade and enjoyed the ride.

From there we headed to Ocean Isle. We did have to make a pitstop for towels, but that's not hard once you get close to the water. And we drove through a horrendous rain storm - I was just sure we weren't going to make it in the water this afternoon. But the rain blew through and following it was the sweetest Carolina afternoon you could ever imagine in August. We hit up the beach near Jordon and Erin's condo - it was gorgous, empty, and we all had a blast. Curtis and I hit up the boogie boards, and even got Toby and Lucy on a little. The kids dug in the sand - Toby was working very diligently on a river from the ocean, and every wave in would fill it a little more. I was quite impressed with how long he worked on it!

After a while someone looked at a clock and we realized it was already 6:30! Yikes! We showered off quickly and changed clothes at Erin and Jordon's condo, then went to a local BBQ joint for dinner. It was good, but so late, and the kids not having naps...well, they were a little roudy, but not bad. So we treated to ice cream, then swept back to the hotel for more thorough baths and bed. It didn't take them long to fall asleep - they were both pooped! I'm hoping they sleep in a little in the morning, since I doubt they take a nap!

Anyway, I thought I'd write my thoughts down while they were fresh in my head. We don't have any plans for tomorrow, but we're hoping we don't get near the showers they are forecasting - I want more time on the beach!!!

Bumps and Bruises and Daredevils, oh my!

I thought I'd hurry up and get these pics posted before I get distracted again...we have a busy day planned today!

Here's Toby after an incident at the park on Monday...he fell off the swing and then it came back and hit him right on the side of the nose. Poor kid!


Lucy's new daredevil trick...nothing scares this kid!
And my hummingbird :)
Today we have a friend of Toby's coming over in the morning, and then we're hitting up the pool! Fun! Hopefully it means the third day in a row of great napping :) We went swimming Monday and Lucy napped until 5pm! I just need to figure out how to fit in lunch today and we'll be good.

Enjoy the pics!