Monday, January 25, 2010

updates!

the children are occupied for the moment, so i've stolen a bit to update the world on the goings on in the crandall clan.

emma asked last friday if we could do school, so i dug out the preschool and kindegarten books i've collected and started in. she loved every minute of it & begged me for homework, she is most definitely my child. violette, while not ready for school, wanted to be a part as well. she colored & drew a beautiful picture of me, which will be featured in a photo scavenger hunt i'm taking part of.

last nite at bedtime, i was coaxing emma to bed and she told me that she didn't want me to offer that to her again. sassafrass galore, nonetheless, very clever.

our sweet dog passed away, and it has opened up the backyard for all sorts of adventures. the girls have thoroughly enjoyed discovering the best hiding spots and having races.

theodore's top two teeth popped through, i fear i have a bunny rabbit for a baby. they are HUGE and adorable. he also says "dada" now. his crawling has reached new heights and you can bet that if he is on the floor, he is headed for either one of his sister's hair to tug on, that or the cat's food.

i am doing very well, the year of adventure has been paused for the moment as we currently don't have a working vehicle... w2s, where are you? i am very excited to get our taxes filed and hoping we get back what we plan on ;) we are hoping to get a new (to us) minivan, a computer and a camera for me. i cannot wait to get a new computer and post all of the pictures i've taken. flickr, i miss you! i've tried over and over to post them on this machine, but linux and flickr are mortal enemies, i fear. it freezes if i am on the site for more than 3 minutes, that could be said of most sites though.

it's now to make lunch and hopefully have a successful quiet time!

(i'm getting very, very excited about valentines day!!)

the song for today:

Thursday, January 21, 2010

thursday things.

-produce chart: what's in season.



Monday, January 18, 2010

change of plans.

dear effie,
you can not do it all.

sincerely, effie


my etsy won't be opening in february, after all. in the 17 days of january, i've completed crocheting 1/2 of an orange, 1/2 of a peach and a plum. and i'm okay with that, but when i say "i'm opening a shop in february" and i don't open a shop in february, does that make me a liar? or does it simply mean that i am not a super woman, nor capable of bending space and time to accommodate my whims?

and i'm not saying i won't be opening my shop, it's just on a different timeline than i'd like. it may open in june, or next february... i don't know. but i'm not going to beat myself up over it, that's for sure
.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

horizons.

today is going to be a gorgeous day, i just know it.

we've just finished up mama/baby yoga and we're munching on breakfast. my coffee is the perfect temperature and fully delicious. i'm breathing in this lovely air, full of love and giggles and i'm ready for a day of adventure, laundry, crocheting and diapers.

i am thankful for my sweet boy's admiration and his acrobatics while nursing. for the girls and their respective hilarious (and particular!) mannerisms. for my lovey, and even when we're picking at each other and having a rough morning of communication, there is still an undercurrent of devotion & good intentions. i'm grateful for the promises of good things to come & the anticipation of new goodies for our little clan.

i am ready for this sickness to be gone from our household & the fresh air of sunshine to permeate our home with healing.

i am wishing peace, kindness & thoughtfulness to everyone i love & that today would be an grand adventure for all of us.

i am wondering
what good things are on your horizon?

thursday things.

-after the laundry, the laundry!
-beautiful entralac afghan pattern
-vonnegut.
-continuum concept.
-peanut butter cup brownie bites!
-fantastic photography.
-for the sixteen year old in me.
-one of my favorite blogs.




Tuesday, January 12, 2010

on a far more serious note...


miep gies passed away yesterday. i've always found her to be incredibly inspiring, someone to be admired for bravery and kindness. i hope she rests in peace.


the quotable effie.

sickness starts in the kitchen...

...and ends in the bathroom.

Monday, January 4, 2010

stop! listen!



so, so good. this is now in my ever revolving top ten. please listen and enjoy!

Friday, January 1, 2010

2010 - the year of adventure and saying yes.

adventure: participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.

yes: to give an affirmative reply to; give assent or approval to.




year in review.

at the beginning of 2009, i declared i would make 2009 the year of home. we moved back into our house in february and i wanted to make my home cozy and beautiful, i feel i've succeeded. my goals for 2010 include starting an etsy shop, carving out time for myself by spending time alone and with friends, i also want to cultivate friendships and become less reclusive and more adventurous. following is my year in review. i hope everyone has a beautiful new years, and that 2010 is full of love and adventure for all of us!

january
brady started working at the city january 2nd, and we were full of hope and anticipation. i don't have a picture from january, oddly enough. i remember making lists and preparing to move, and trying not hurt anyone's feelings by being too excited about moving home.

februarythe first nite back in our house was february 1st. we had sold most of our things in the garage sale we had before we moved, so we were nearly starting over. margot joined our family on february 7th, we saw her & i fell in love instantly. brady said no way, no day & i was pretty bummed. that is, until he "went shopping" & came home with my pretty kitty.

march
march was a fun time of waiting for the outside to warm up, taking walks, & becoming reacquainted with our home. there had been updates & little changes throughout, so i had fun making these discoveries. in march, brady got an email from a lawn company he'd sent a resume to several months prior, and they were wanting to schedule an interview. we spent the evening discussing this, and the very next day the city drastically reduced his working hours. he went to the interview and started working there several weeks later.


april

in april, brady's family came up for the weekend and redecorated the girls bedroom. it was fun and so kind of them to do. it turned out so darling and we still love it. the girls decided it would be a good idea to cut their hair, so i had to fix that just before easter. they had adorable little summer cuts, which they loved. emma turned 4, we had a little party. she was not a big fan of aging another year and we had a hard time for a few weeks after her birthday.

may
may. the longest month of this year, for me. all that matters is theodore is here, and he is perfect.

june
june was a time of acclimation and figuring out how on earth we were going to do this. brady turned 26 and i turned 23. we celebrated in the usual manner, with homemade pizza and funfetti cake... though i got reprimanded quite severely for kneading pizza dough 5 days postpartum! the picture i chose for june was our first walk as the completed crandall clan, the first of many escapades and days spent outside. we had lots of visitors and helpers during this time, which was nice. i started project 365 on my birthday, and that's still going strong!

july
july was a fairly quiet month, violette anne turned 3 and loved it. we had a dj lance rock cake and a fun party. we spent most of july outside, having picnics and taking pictures. i don't recall anything all too exciting in july, but i may have been preoccupied with my brand new baby!

august
august was a good time of finally feeling wholly settled from having the baby. we had lots of parties and fun events in august. this picture is from our niece's big birthday bash... brady's brother and his wife know how to throw a party! this was the third year brady's cousin has taken our family photo at this park, and i love having the tradition.

september
september was a long goodbye to summer, we transitioned to playing inside more and my crafting was highly active. we anticipated shorter and colder days ahead, and spent every chance outside and in the water that we could. i think september may have been the quietest month in 2009 for us.

octoberoctober! my favorite month of the year. we celebrated 7 years of lovies on 'tober 13th and the universe even recognized how vastly important it was that brady have the day off by sending rain so he wouldn't have to work. we had a wonderful halloween, with a bumblebee and butterfly and a baby bear.


november
november was a fun month of appreciating fall with baking and knitting and watching the leaves. we took a trip to amarillo and had a lovely early thanksgiving dinner with brady's family. our thanksgiving week was full of dinners with friends and family and quite nice.

decemberdecember has been a fun month of counting down the days til christmas with little activities each day. we had a party at our house with brady's family, which was definitely a highlight of our christmas season. i'm not sorry to see december go, since it brought this crazy blizzard and displaced our plans. in spite of it all, we had a beautiful christmas and the time spent together was lovely.