Warning: About a million pictures below.

I had way too many bantam eggs, so we decided to dye those for Easter.

They are like mini eggs.  Everything mini is more fun, because mini things are cute, right? Plus they are the perfect size for little hands to grip.

I saw this idea on Pinterest to use a muffin tin to dye eggs.  Well that one deserves a negative rating.

Two seconds after this picture was taken Ada flipped the muffin tin over, mixing and spilling all of the colors.

Thankfully I had the common sense (and nice weather) to do this outdoors.

I never thought I’d say this, but thank goodness we live 5 minutes from Walmart.

Tyler went to buy more egg dye and I occupied them with the wax crayon.

Ada was frustrated because she thought the crayon wasn’t working.  Poor toddler brains, they do not compute the purpose of invisible wax crayons.

Curious and curiouser…

Behold!

“Hi. When I’m not screaming I’m really cute.”

Rosie discovered the egg dye came with glitter.

She was so excited she kissed the glitter package repeatedly.

The glitter was like a happy drug.

Except then I distracted them away from the glitter before we even opened the package.

Because you know what?  I hate glitter.

Oooh, buzz kill.

The last time I unleashed that sparkly crap in my home I found it every where for like a week.

Including in my eyebrows, and a piece in between my teeth one day.

Yeah.  Glittered eggs?  No.  Just…sorry but no.

We had lots of bright colored dye for distraction, so all was well.

See?  Dye on her finger.  Oh my.

Uh, yeah…I really don’t know what was going on here.

Ada’s chipped front tooth makes me sad, but I’ve realized now it also matches her personality.

Upon being told she cannot splash in the dye:

Can you believe this one is almost six?  SIX!

Back to happy again.  Nearly two, such a fun age.

I have no explanation for this.

Thankfully an airplane flew past to offer a much needed distraction before the spoon attack went any further.

I really love toddlers.  No sarcasm.

Showing off some of her eggs!

“My eggs say it CHEESE toooo!”

Oh my gosh I made these eggs change colors!

Intermission: Rosie instructed me to photograph her strawberries.

Daddy returned with more dye and spill proof bowls, which actually worked very well.

Ada said, “Huh?  This?”

Ada was allowed to use the remaining muffin tin dyes.

She was quite thrilled.

Mini-eggs are really cool. At least I think so.

Ada agrees.

What the heck are these egg traps you bought Dad?

She kept wanting to re-dye the eggs as other colors. This ended up being a teal egg.

She whipped that spoon back out from where ever she hid it and used it to remove her egg somehow.

Martha Stewart perfect eggs?  Nope.  Naturally died eggs?  No again.

Fun?  Yep.

(Note the article in the newspaper at the bottom of the picture.  Talk about perpetuating stereotypes! I have good teeth, thank you very much.)

Speaking of doctor exams, Ada had an eye exam today.

She did so well! She didn’t cry at all, but she also refused to speak.  She just bashfully grinned.

The eye doctor said she has good vision right now, but it looks like she’ll likely need glasses as she gets bigger. This was based on the shape of her cornea.

If all seems well I don’t have to bring her back until she’s four.  Apparently there’s a major growth spurt around age four that usually results in eye sight change for some kids.

Will all my kids need glasses?  Stupid husband and his apparently dominant blindness gene.

Oh well.  I still think they’re cute, husband included.

Tomorrow I’ll post the pictures from Easter day.  I also have some super adorable pictures of Duck Face Amos to share later!

I have finally crocheted something successfully.

I made Ada a pair of longies.  Crocheting a pair of size 3t longies was no easy feat, but they fit perfectly.

I AM SO PROUD!  Now I am going to make her several more pairs, and maybe attempt a sweater.

I love them!

 

 

 

 

I’ve been busy living life.

Go figure, right?

Instagram makes it so easy to snap pictures with my iPhone and create quick memories.  I don’t have a lot of time to edit real photos lately.  I even tested prints from iPhone photos, I got 5×5′s, and they came out great.  The ones I got printed were Hipstamatics.  I bet the Instagrams will be even better!  (I got them printed from WHCC, the professional place I use for clients.)

Check out my fridge!  These are the 5×5 prints.  A few are from my real camera, but most are iPhone photos.  Of course it looks way better in person.  Instagram of Instagrams…hah.  I laminated them so when kitchen splashes/wear and tear hit the pictures I can just wipe them off.  They also won’t curl up and fade now.

 

 

We’ve been enjoying summer weather.

You know summer’s here when the blackberries are getting ripe!

 

Rosie is into making books lately.  We work on them outside in the evenings at our picnic table. 

Here’s one in progress. 
(Soon I have to scan and share her version of Cinderella…Tyler and I laughed so hard we cried.)

Rosie draws the pictures and then tells me exactly what to write.  Later she colors them and we staple it into a book.

 

"Gid Bay" is how Rosie sounded out "goodbye".
 

 

Ada is constantly on the attack, which is why my handwriting is so messy!

 

This is what Ada prefers to do.

She really loves to get wet and dirty.  A lot.  A whole lot.

 

Ducks have destroyed my ENTIRE garden.

Good thing they are so cute.

They break through every fence and barrier I’ve erected.  They ate half of the garden and trampled the rest.

 

Rosie is always drawing and writing.

(I drew, she colored.)

 

Ada is always in motion.

Almost always.

 

 

 

And bike rides, can’t forget those. 

Rosie is still trying to get the hang of peddling.  She has trouble getting started then keeping momentum.

 

Caterpillar collecting in pajamas…it’s in a cocoon now!

 

Intense coloring sessions!

 

Good books.

 

Watching the Easter chicks grow up…

 

Rosie’s favorite chick Feathery died. 

We buried her at Rosie’s request in a graveyard.  Rosie insisted Feathery be buried in this old 1800′s graveyard in the woods behind a local historical house.

We took Feathery’s body to the graveyard with a shovel, walked into the woods, and Rosie had this specific spot picked out.

She was so sad over Feathery’s death that I couldn’t say no.

I wasn’t sure how deep it was safe to dig.  When I hit an old rusted nail I freaked out and refused to dig any further!  The things I do for my children.

So Feathery is now resting peacefully on top of a grave from 1801.

In Feathery’s memory I made a crochet Feathery.  Rosie *loves* her!

 

That took enough precious time to post. 

Back to living and not sitting in front of this computer screen!

 

 

 

Last month I decided I wanted to get Ada a pull toy doggy for Christmas.  I searched and searched but I couldn’t find one I liked.  None were cute enough, none looked like our dogs so that Ada would recognize it.  She loves dogs so much for some reason.

Then I saw Fisher Price Nosey Puppy #445 from the 1950′s.

I found one for sale on Etsy for just a few dollars…

He was in sad condition, but I had to buy him!

On the other side of his head he didn’t even have an eye!

I decided to sand him down to the wood and re-do him completely in non-toxic acrylic paint.

This was fun. His ears ripped off, the felt was brittle.  I felt sad when I was sanding off his little smile and his one huge eye.

Naked Nosey Puppy!

Then…a white base coat.  It took three coats before it was thick enough to not see through.

I had a dilemma after this–I wanted to draw details onto him, but I didn’t know what to use to draw with.

At first I thought Sharpie, but then I read online that the clear top coat glaze would cause the sharpie to smear when I glazed him at the end.

I googled and googled and couldn’t figure out what to do.

As I was cleaning up Rosie’s art mess I picked up a fine tip Uniball pen to put away and noticed it said water proof and fade resistant on the side.

I did a small test on the bottom of the doggy–it didn’t smear when glazed over!  Perfect.

So I immediately drew a few details back onto him.  I wanted to make him look like our Fox Hound, Hank, but also like his original Nosey Puppy face.

Then I filled him in with some color…and finally I put a thick coat of non-toxic non-yellowing clear glaze over top of everything.

I even glazed his nose and wheels, which I did not repaint.  I wasn’t sure if the 1950′s paint had lead in it or not, but it’s safe now since it’s glazed over.

I also added new ears.  The only thing unchanged is his tail, because I couldn’t think of what to do to it.  The rubber of it is slightly brittle, but not too bad. Hopefully it will be alright.

Here he is!  All done and ready for Christmas!

Doesn’t he look refreshed?

He has one little patch of spots on his rear, just like Hank.

I had so much fun making him spiffy again.  I ordered a Fisher Price chicken pull toy to re-do also.  It’s taking forever to arrive though!

I’m debating whether to just glaze over her worn details to seal her, or if I should sand and start over.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to paint on so many cute chicken details, that’s harder than a puppy.

I can’t wait until she comes, I was hoping she would be here for Christmas.  She cackles when you pull her!

I’m having fun this Christmas.  I’m in the process of making Rosie some crocheted tea party food.

I tried a cup cake.

It came out alright, but I think I’ll do it a bit differently next time.

We woke up this morning to four inches of snow on the ground.  It usually doesn’t snow much in December, this is like January weather.  Strange!

The average day time high temp for December here is 45 degrees.  Today the high was 21 degrees.  Brrr.

Rosie is still seriously struggling with her attitude issues.  She was fine all weekend, but then today she’s been horrible.  And you know what?  It’s because she knew Tyler was going back to work tonight.  I feel sorry for her, but I’m also very frustrated.

The issue isn’t that she only listens to Tyler and doesn’t behave for me.  (It’s actually kind of the opposite.)  The problem is acts like she’s on PCP in the hours before Tyler goes to work and right after he leaves.

She wants his attention so bad!  She was in the middle of a huge screaming fit when he started paying attention to her and she just lit up.  Happy, calm, normal.

I don’t think the tantrums are something to ignore, she’s upset and that’s how she expresses it.  She’s not doing it to behave badly, she’s doing it because she has an unmet need.

I don’t know. This is hard.  Where is the easy button?

Do you see how happy Rosie is?  Not two minutes prior to this picture she was growling and shrieking and hitting the door.  All she wants/needs is Tyler’s attention and physical contact.

It’s extra hard because he left for work early today, and he won’t see Rosie again tonight, or all day tomorrow.

He will see her when he gets up on Wednesday afternoon, for just 2-3 hours before he leaves to go to work again. Then he won’t see her again until Friday for 2-3 hours before work.

I wish we could somehow eat three meals a day together and see each other more often.

One last Rosie and Daddy photo:

This was not staged, completely accidental outtake.  Tyler’s hat was falling off and I snapped a photo at the wrong second.

This morning while Ada napped in the mei tai carrier on my chest I decided to sew a few things.

Tyler refuses to reach into my purse because he says it’s like a giant pit.  It contains multitudes of things and he can never find my keys or wallet in there.  So this weekend I got a new bag and I decided I’m going to keep it organized.  I hate having to dump out everything in it just to find something that’s sunken down deep to the bottom!

I use my purse as a diaper bag too, that’s why it has so many things in it.

So I made two fleece bags–one for clean cloth diapers and cloth wipes and a change of baby clothes.  The other for small toys to occupy the girls when we’re out.  The new bag has two zippered pockets, one for a protein bar (emergency Rosie is freaking out food), and one for my phone.

See?  I love this new purse!

Inside…

Ada had to get busy drooling on my organizational bags ASAP.

She is so big.  How has this happened?

After trying to figure out knitting and/or crocheting for several years, I have finally succeeded!  I’m so excited.  I can do it, I can really crochet stuff, not just make semi-formed thingies.

So far I’ve made this little dolly, Sleeping Sarah, who still needs a face.

Isn’t she cute?  Ada loves to chew on her hat tip.

I also made Ada a hat.  I am debating whether to add ear flaps or kitty ears to it.

The hook size I need to make the ear flaps or kitty ears has suddenly disappeared in my house, so it will be a plain hat until that hook resurfaces.

Poor sleepy baby girl…

Really quick, a few snapshots from this morning in bed:

Love them so much!