Flashback Friday

This flashback is from 2009. My little brother[ he's 10 years younger] came to visit with his girlfriend. They were trying to surprise us, but he couldn't remember which house was mine. They live back home in Cleveland, so they don't get to come over often. He called while on my street asking some weird question about the house. I didn't answer him "correctly" and he finally told me what they were doing. It was a nice surprise and the kids were super excited to see them!

We decided to spend the day at the zoo. Sounds fun, right? For everyone except my little brother that is! I totally forgot that he hates going to the zoo, and always has. It's weird cause he loves animals...just no zoo, something about the walking and sun! It ended up being a really fun day though! My favorite part was the bigger kids and my brother posing in their best gopher faces-with Uncle also holding up Miss {M} so we could actually see her! I LOVE my baby brother-I sure miss him!

Finally

We finally have a finger painter! As an artist myself [did you guys know I majored in fine art-painting in college?], I think it's really important to give kids a chance to be creative and get dirty doing it, if they want!

I always found it funny that my oldest two kids wouldn't even think of putting paint on their hands! We used to joke that Mr. {D} might actually have a problem with the amount of times he washed his hands in a day, and freaked out if they were dirty. As a baby/toddler he actually preferred me to feed him with a spoon rather than grab at his food..yep, cause his hands got dirty!

Miss {M} was the opposite. She would rub pudding on her face like she was getting a spa treatment, felt pasta & sauce was a great hair condition and her veggies looked nice on the ceiling! I really expected her to be the messy painter, but paint was the one thing she didn't like on her hands, face or head. She would meticulously paint in little strokes with several brushes.

The other day while the kids were painting I realized Little {L} had paint on his hands! He started with a paint brush and about half way through a piece, decided to use his hands. When I said, "let me see your hands", he had the "great now, I'm in trouble look". He's one of those kids that gets into everything and Mama is always following around saying, "Ohhhh, not that L!". It was awesome to see his face light up when I said, "Good Job! Make some more!"

Some Sewing

New dresses for Miss {M} & Mama. I love the cute print on her dress fabric. I picked this up about a year ago. Originally it was going to be a birthday dress...then Christmas....and now a summer dress. Sometimes, time just gets away from us! She loves it and I'm happy too. It's nice and twirly, which my little girl is a fan of.

I made a smocked dress for myself too. It's a little too big, so it's been hanging in my closet after only wearing it once. I need to take out some fabric and move the straps. I need thick straps on things right now to cover up nursing bra straps--hate those little snaps showing through.

I'm working on some fun upcycled & new t-shirts for the boys right now. Hopefully I can get them finished this weekend. Little {L} is waiting very patiently for his new skulls hoodie, t-shirt. I'll share those when they are complete!

Ready for Action

After a fun day at the zoo, Little {L} was anything, but ready for action. He is the funniest child! He will wear anything on his head, but a hat. Everything can become a hat-bowls, old coffee containers, scarves. The possibilities are endless. I actually made him an orange, Yo Gabba Gabba hat and he prefers the Folgers container with a ball cap underneath. Shoes can be worn as accessories for arms and ears! Boots are a must have even in 100 degree heat!

Little {L} often runs & runs so he won't fall asleep. He spent the last part of the day racing against sleep. Once he was contained to the car, it was all over. I love that he fell asleep with his "hat" on still!

Flasback Friday

This flashback Friday is from 2008. Yesterday was my little sisters birthday-Happy Birthday Tina!

This was the year my niece was born. My sister had asked me to be with her for her for the delivery. I was really excited, the only hitch was our location. We live 2+ hours away on a day with no traffic [or potty breaks for kids]. I was also nursing, so needed my husband to come along so he could watch our three children, and shuttle Little{L} back and forth to the hospital to eat. [He never, ever drank from a bottle. We tried for a while and finally acknowledged it wasn't in the cards for him].

We ended up making it to the hospital in time, and I was really lucky to be present when my niece arrived in this world! The top picture was taken about a week later. We were back in our hometown for Christmas. Miss {M} was so thrilled to have a girl in the family! Mr. {D} loves all babies and couldn't get enough snuggle time with his new niece. It was pretty cool!

The second picture is from the same year, on Christmas morning. I had made Miss {M} a doll from my old clothes. It actually turned out to be a horribly ugly doll! It was a last minute, I need to make one more thing project the night before we opened gifts. All that aside, she LOVED that doll the moment she laid eye son it! It was her favorite gift that year and carried it everywhere. I just love this shot I snapped right as she opened the package! So sweet, and a great memory for me!

New Friends

Baby Unicorn has made some new friends. A sweet little owl with his muchroom, a happy racoon, and a badger [I think?]. The past two weeks, he has started to become really interested in his environment. These little creates live on his bouncer seat. They are part-time friends, as we only put them on the seat sometimes. I think this makes him like them even more!

It's really awesome to watch him grow a little more each day! I'm cherishing all these "baby" moments with him. I'm hoping he doesn't go through any of the stages too quick! [Little {L} went through everything in a flash]! I'm enjoying my son as a baby and not wishing him to grow too fast-it goes by in a blink of an eye no matter what! I want to have time to cherish each step in his growth! Even night feedings are starting to get cut out. While one one hand, I'm happy for the extra sleep, I do feel a little sad to being watching his newborn days drift away. I've been hugging him a little tighter and smiling a little extra when he does wake at 2am, knowing it won't be long now.

Yum

We've been on a baking kick for the past few days. Lots of tasty treats being made! Today I'm planning to make & freeze a few batches of baby food for the winter. I made most of Little {L}'s baby food, and I'm hoping to do the same for baby unicorn. It's actually super quick & easy, with the added benefit of avoiding some processed food, and the cost that accompanies them.

We picked up some yummy zucchini's, squash and eggplant at the market last Saturday. Last night, we received our CSA bag from Whole Foods. At first, I wasn't sure how we'd like having this. I'm really picky and wasn't sure how they whole "surprise" aspect would be. With a family full of vegetarians, I thought it couldn't hurt to try, and so far, we are loving it! Lots of fresh, healthy veggies from local Ohio farmers. I think this will actually force us to find new recipes and uses for some of the things in the CSA bags. [which is a good thing]

I'm excited to take advantage of all the seasonal fruit & vegetables. We will have a freezer full of goodies for the baby when he's ready to start eating food this winter!

Flashback Friday

This flashback Friday takes us to 2008-not so far in the past, but it sure feels like yesterday! Mr. {D} [with the help of his Daddy] decided he NEEDED tattoo's.

I love when the kids are sporting little fake tattoo's. I only have one, and wish my husband would wake up one day and decide he needs several. [I like tattoo's and managed to marry the only guy in our old high school crew without a tattoo. Actually everyone else is working on sleeves+ at this point. Haha!]

I remember Mr. {D} mentioning something about tattoo's and saying "MMMMhhhhmm, whatever baby". A few minutes later he comes back with his entire chest covered! It was so fun, I LOVE IT, was all I could say laughing! We had several weeks to annoy the grandparents with that one! [His mohawk is the current disdain for them]

This other picture is of Little {L} and Daddy. I made that skull outfit special for him. That child was forever in skulls & flames. The funny thing is how much it matches his personality. He grew from that smiling, little, sweet baby into a bad-ass toddler. He's one tough kid!

Baby Unicorn fits into the same outfit right now. He's worn it once, but it just seems wrong on him. He's going to be the sweet boy in the family-he's just so laid back, calm and well...sweet! Funny how different their personalities are even when they are tiny little creatures. He'll still be tough though, he has to be to keep up with Little {L}.

Liberty Boots

On a recent trip to Target, I came across these Liberty of London rain boots. They were stuffed under a pile of clearance shoes. I almost didn't pull them out figuring they were dropped there on accident. Without an extra $25 in the day's budget, they wouldn't be coming home with us.

Curiosity got the best of me and I was thrilled to see they were marked down to $5!! They are a full size too big for little Miss {M}, but she will grow into them sooner or later. She's having fun prancing through the house, pretending to stomp in puddles, for now.

Before & After

I picked up this shabby little step stool/chair last summer at a garage sale for $1. I need a chair that sits higher up than a regular one, to use when I do shows for Kunklebaby. The chair was used a few times last summer and I just wasn't that thrilled with it's "looks". About a week ago, I was sitting in bed and all the sudden I decided I had to re-do the chair. [No, I don't have any upcoming shows, or sudden need for it's use. Just one of the random things I decide I suddenly need to make/do.] A little sandpaper, a can of spray paint and a few small bits of fabric and it was done! Quick & easy!

It now matches my "Kunklebaby Branding" colors, and will look fabulous with my display. The chair used to live in the garage, only seeing the light of day when we had an outdoor show to attend. Since the makeover, he's staying in the house! He has a permanent home in the kitchen since it's also a step stool. The kids love using it to reach the high cabinets and Mama loves how it looks!

--Don't forget to enter the July Giveaway-only 3 more days to enter--

Corners of my home

The kids are really interested in learningabout different parts of the world and other cultures right now. So we've been looking at this globe lots!

Ohhh fabric, how I miss you! Between nursing a baby, chasing an extra-energetic toddler and keeping the bigger two kids from dying of sheer boredom, I can't find time to spend with you. I really missing sewing and have all kinds of projects in my head.

Marker & paper: all you need at our house to have a fun, creative day. The older kids spend more time drawing than anything else. Makes for a proud mama!

I need a maid! Perhaps I would have more time to spend with my fabric that way-or exercizing? I have a bit of baby weight I'm dying to lose. Sadly the time for that hasn't been found yet either. Looks like I'll be jogging at midnight.

Flashback Friday

Meet Mr. Caterpillar! He's an old friend at our house. When Little {L} was a baby, he didn't play with toys-pretty much ever! There were many days that I begged an pleaded for him to "just play-please". He was way more interested in walking, running, climbing and mischief. The ONE toy that he actually showed interest in was this cute, little caterpillar pull toy. He dragged this thing through the entire house over & over again, peeking over his shoulder and giggling as he saw it following him.

I've been collecting the "baby" toys lately since we'll soon have another one to play with the younger toys. Little {L} found this in the pile and quickly retrieved it, reminding me it was {L}'s, NOT baby's! It still holds the same giggle power. I can't wait to see if Baby Unicorn loves this toy also...well honestly I'm just hoping for another child who plays with toys!

Caught you!

Finally caught a pic of that amazing smile! Even though I know I will see a million smiles from him over the years, these first one's are extra special to me. Every time I get a big grin, my heart melts! A little bit of magic in that face!

A little sewing

I managed to work in a little sewing recently! Two new dresses for Big Sister {M}. She couldn't be more pleased. The girl would be happy to have 100 dresses and change hourly if she could. [which I happen to find adorable].

This one was an easy & quick sew. Just a square of fabric, some elastic thread and a few feet of handmade bias tape. I love that this will fit her for probably 2 years as a dress and then maybe another as a shirt when the length gets too short. With a large family, clothes that the kids don't grow out of after a season are a huge help! They get plenty of use & love that way-just the way handmade items should be.

What's new...

Someone is smiling! He is making sure his Mama DOESN'T catch a picture of it either! His new mission in life: Smile often, but whatever I do, DON'T get caught!

Pictures or not, I couldn't be happier to see the sweet smiles that dance across his face. He lights up when he realized I've walked into the room and gives a sweet little coo. These are the moments in life that matter. The moments I want to wrap up in a pretty box and hold close to my heart forever.

-Oh yeah, the crown you ask? Doesn't every little boy smile & giggle when wearing a purple crown? The bigger kids made crowns for everyone to wear over the weekend. My favorite was the bright pink one made for Daddy!-

Yo Gabba Gabba

Little {L} is obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba. He doesn't really watch any tv otherwise, but he loves his Gabba. Not any Gabba that is, ONLY the Jack Black episode. He walks around saying "Jack-yeah!". In the episode Jack Black gets a suit just like DJ Lance and rides off on his mini-bike. Little {L} rides off wearing his Jack helmet-an old Folgers coffee container. It used to house his toy tools until he realized what a great hat it would make one day. Yes, we do have PLENTY of actually hats in our home, but they are no fun and not Jack friendly. It cracks me up watching him play. He even wore his "hat" to the store one day-toddlers are so fun.

Giveaway Time-closed!!

And the winner is Mary Moon-Congrats! Uprinting will be contacting you shortly with instructions to redeem your prize. Thanks!
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Giveaway Time again-Yay! This month you have a chance to win custom stickers from Uprinting! These would be great for handmade artists, used for homemade food labels to gift, book tags for the upcoming school season, stickers of your kids or pets, gift tags-lots of possibility!

Giveaway Prize:
250 Stickers/Labels on 70lb Label Matte
2×3.5", 2×4", 3×3"
Full Color Front and Blank back
Limited to US residents: 18 years old and above

Uprinting:
custom stickers cheap
Printing Services

To enter:

please post a comment [include your email so I can reach the winner]. For fun, add what you'd like to make with the stickers if you would win.

A winner will be chosen on July 16th. Uprinting will email the winner with instruction on claiming their prize at the end of the month

M.I.A

I've been away from the blog for a whole week. No, we didn't take an impromptu vacation, just busy with everyday things and 4 children to make happy. We've spent the week hanging out at Comfest, visiting friends, riding bikes, dancing, enjoying the lovely weather, and lots of baby snuggling-LOTS!

We made it to Comfest this year-even with four little one's in tow. We've gone every year since we moved to Columbus, so it felt right to take the newest baby along for the fun. We mostly hang out during the day now that we have kids. Back in the day it was a weekend of hanging out, drinking beer and enjoying the music & the people watching. The only thing that has changed is the drinking beer part...mama always seems to be pregnant or nursing. Truthfully, I don't miss it one bit.