Sad

Sad things seem to always happen when you least expect them.

Sunday. Sunday we had fun watching tractors with the boys. Sunday was our wedding anniversary.

Sunday night our cat died.

He looked terrible when he came home that night, and despite trips to the vet and clinic late at night, he didn't make it.

So yes, we're sad. Very.

And the only thing that helps a bit is knowing that we've always truly loved and appreciated that cat. Despite busy days, there was always time to cuddle with him. He'd get up early in the morning with me and purr while I brushed my teeth. He'd sit in the driveway with us while the kids rode their bikes around the street. He was always with us.

And he will always be with us. How could you forget a cat who purred so loud he'd sound a bit like a dove. Who loved ham and shrimps, but only the best quality. Who could open doors. Who wouldn't meow but make some strange sound instead. Who had this look in his eyes like he was a very wise old soul.

I know this might sound corny, but we do hope that soul will live on. Somewhere.

Beware of the sharks: party preparations

I could have sworn big brother would go for a guitar party this year. Sworn.

I was so sure that I actually got blow-up guitars and guitar shaped key rings, weeks ago. I mean, after this year's Rock Star Cats for carnival it had to be a guitar party, right? Right?

Wrong.

Instead, we're in for a shark party this year.

Which is ok for me - I mean, just do a quick search for shark party on Pinterest. See what I mean? Lots of ideas.

Good thing that I was anyway planning to reuse last year's bunting and the blueish party supplies with the stars. I mean, it's blue, right? Goes with sharks if you ask me. And besides, the store still carries some of it, so I could stock up on napkins, balloons and some other cute things.

Such as the cutest little favor boxes. Turns out they're too small for goodie bags, but they make nice invites, at least if you fill them with some gummy sharks. And they just happen to give those homemade invites something to cling to, because just printed on plain paper they looked just that. Plain.  Punch a hole, tie them to the boxes with some green raffia and - ah, much better. To anyone who's interested, this is where I found the shark clipart I used in the invites.

And since I has a kid-free house last week, I got the goodie bags out of the way as well. I don't know about you, but I don't really like when my kids come home from birthday parties with a lot of little things. They are treasures to them for a day or so, and then these little things turn into clutter. And they start to multiply. Take over their rooms, the basket of miscellaneous toys in the living room (it's a junk basket, if you ask me, and we weed it out every couple of months, usually sending at least a quarter of its contents to the trash).

Using simple white bags, I glued the shark to the front, added the guests' name on some washi tape and cut teeth into the top. They got filled with some more shark candy, a plastic shark and, my favorite, a shark bell for their bikes. Not too much crap, right? Right? 

Finally I did birthday shirts, and the traditional felt birthday crown and yarn wreath. Luckily I could reuse last year's letter and garland and just cut out the number and pinned it to the wreath. Easy. Which was good, considering the fact that I had been crafting, sewing and eating gummy sharks all day.

Stay tuned for more!

Swenja

Making clouds

I've made a couple of clouds recently. Mostly soft, fluffy ones. Who doesn't like puffy little clouds? See, that's what I figured, too. So I made them, again and again, as gifts for some dear friends. No two clouds I made are alike, and that is not just due to the fact that I just cannot follow a pattern.

It all started out with the cloud mobile I made for my friend's third child. You might also remember the cloud pillow I made for her for Christmas. Well, it sort of took off from there. I made some more cloud pillows, gave them little sleepy eyes and a grin.

Then it went on to cloud teabags, cards and more pillows.

For a while I haven't been making much. There has been so much summer fun, work and plain daily life going on, that making things got pushed to the bottom of my list. You know, in to those parts of the list that you never really get around to, despite all the good intentions. And then my kids left for a vacation with their grandparents. Oh, bliss.

I still have to work and there are many things on my list, such as the new garden and preparations for big brother's party. But I decided that some of those things would have to wait, and that I was going to spend this kid-free time mostly with things I never get around to while the kids are here.

Such as sleeping. Taking naps in the middle of the day. Reading the paper and drinking a third cup of coffee on Sunday morning. Eating take-out Chinese food in front of the TV on a Monday night after an 11-hour shift at work. Going for a quick swim in the pool when I'd usually clean up the house and put the kids to bed. Grilling pizza and eating it on the patio at 9pm instead of 6pm. Ahhh...

And making things. Leaving the mess of sewing supplies out, not having to worry about putting away needles and scissors.

So I made another cloud mobile, for some dear friends expecting baby No. 2. I think it's always kind of hard to find a good gift for the second child. You have all the basics, have gotten rid of most of the excess stuff and the few things you could use new you actually like buying yourself, because now you finally know what to look for. But in this case, they have recently moved to a house, coming from a small apartment. That might leave room for some additional stuff for baby's room, no? Also, I am just so glad they decided to go for a second child. You see, they went through quite some sorrow and hard times with their wonderful daughter, and I think it's so great that they have the strength and courage to have another one.

I'm a firm believer in gifts for the big siblings when there is a new baby. Just ask my coworkers, both first-time mommies, about that email exchange recently where I was a little, uh, determined to get my point across about gifts for the older sibling being a necessity. But especially for the second baby and with little ones I do feel that while baby usually has everything he or she is going to need, the older child is so easily left out from all the gifts and congrats over the new arrival.

So anyway. Before I launch into a tirade here, let's just say I made an owl cloud pillow for the soon-to-be big sister. Or is it a cloud owl? Not even sure this makes sense at all. But I there wasn't enough white fleece left over, and the owls were so cute so an owl cloud pillow it was.

Turns out you can also cut two of the owls out, sew them together right sides facing, turn them right side out, stuff them a bit and sew them closed with some twine for legs. They also hang from puffy white clouds nicely.

Well, either making clouds in addictive or I am just not a very creative person. But I made another one. For another good friend, who is pregnant with her first baby. This little cloud pillow was made with soft fleece and fabric by Cloud 9. Seriously. I have been in love with their fabric since I started sewing last year, and I've been saving this fabric for a special project. And a birthday gift to a soon-to-be mommy is special, don't you think? And it could just be my favorite cloud so far. I almost want to keep it. Actually, I really do. It looks right at home on my couch.



Maybe if the kids stay a little longer I will make the time to sew one for myself.

Meanwhile, I'll go spend some time staring at the real thing and doing nothing at all.

Happy Sunday!
Swenja

Summer fun

941. That is the number of photos I took during our summer staycation. It took me two nights to edit that down to about half, and then some more to pick a few to show you guys.

With the new garden and the first time ever we had to take our vacation during the school holidays, we ended up staying at home. And we had the most gorgeous weather one could imagine. The kids had a blast, and while we didn't get to sit around and relax much, it did feel so good not to look at the watch and stick to a strict schedule for two weeks. The kids went to bed when it got dark (which is way past 9pm here), we had dinner when we were hungry and got out of bed when we had slept long enough.

Bliss.

Still lots of garden projects, a fence and more weeds than I can count, but also lots of pure and simple summer fun.

I love that my boys are still perfectly happy with the simple things. Here's what we did:

Starting out with the kiddie pool. Which got very warm after a few hours. Little brother didn't care though.

Grilling bread on a stick over the new fire pit. I think by now I can make the dough in my sleep.

Having the neighbors and kids over for grilling marshmallows.

Decided we need a bigger pool and finally went and bought one of those incredibly ugly blue blow-up things. Not pretty, but sooooo much fun!

With unusually hot and sunny weather here, it was so worth it. Big brother could have stayed in that thing all day.

Tractor pulling events are a must around here. This is the season's first, and the boys are quite the experts by now.

Taking a day trip to a local museum. I wish we had taken more of those trips, but with some work creeping into the staycation, plus garden projects, summer flu and the heat, we often opted for just staying in the pool.

This is an old schoolhouse. What a far cry from today's fully digital, touch-screen whiteboards! Or take the school's restroom...

The biggest attraction however, was the museum cat.

Harvesting radishes. Big brother did that as a school project and we ended up planting the seedlings into the new garden.

Little brother also picked his radishes, though he didn't really like eating them.

The harvest.

They looked a little wonky from replanting the fairly big seedlings, but they still did taste good. Can't wait to start next year's crop.

Meanwhile, there are always ice cream sandwiches...

Now it's back to work and the weather has also cooled off somewhat. But despite all the work, I think we could do another staycation. I'm sure a full service, all inclusive hotel would have been less work, but the kids had so much fun just enjoying their home and the neighbor kids, all without school, schedules, kindergarten or homework. 

How has your summer been?

Cheers,

Swenja

Life lately

Four months? Really? You have to be kidding me. Where did those four month go? Or the last seven, for that matter. When did it get to be July already?

Seems like I am missing a few things lately. My annual family photo books? Not even started. And it is, well, July. And it's not just doing the books, it's also the material. Sometimes weeks pass before I pick up my camera again. This blog? Oh, please.

Something's gotta give.

With my not-so-new anymore job (that was last October), more and more things just drop of the list. Get postponed and then just sort of lost. Why is it so hard to start something again once you have stopped, for whatever reason? And why is it all the fun things get dropped?

Don't get me wrong, I love that job, I really do. There are weeks when it's absolutely completely insane, but I still love it. It's just that all the other things need attention, too. You know, things like grocery shopping, errands, laundry and oh, cleaning the house. Taxes, filing papers, paying bills. And my brain happens to shut itself off at 8pm latest. Can't process a single thought anymore. Trust me, I've tried. 

I've been thinking about this lately though. (before 8pm, obviously)

Apparently I need my fun back.

That means that something else will have to give. Some things I simply won't do. Some things my boys will have to help. Cleaning is a family activity now, and that is a good thing because it goes much faster if I don't have to do it all by myself. Not sure my boys agree to that yet, but hey...

So anyway, looking through my (not even sifted through and edited, yikes!) photos, this is a little glimpse into what we've been up to lately:

Little brother learned to ride his bike. After starting his training bike last year and being familiar with the pedals from riding his go-cart, I thought he'd be at this much sooner. But he simply wouldn't let go. It was plain to see he could easily do it, but he just didn't trust it. I really do hope he doesn't come after his mommy in that respect! Geez. Once he got the hang of it though, he was determined to also set off on his own, not needing to give him that initial push. Didn't take him long - something big brother had taken much longer to learn once he rode his bike. Go figure!

Summertime! After a long winter the garden seemed to take forever to grown and bloom. Once it did though, it really did.

Planting seeds for a school project - and then planting some more because little brother wanted them, too. "It's not fair, mommy!" Right. That's they're most favorite complaint lately: "Not fair!" Guess they're gonna have to get used to some of it...

We planted cucumber, radishes and pumpkin. And sunflowers, but they refused to grow. Oh well.

Early summer tradition: Making elderflower syrup. After last year's batches were gone far too soon, we made some more this year. Maybe some of it will last long enough to be a Christmas present? Summer's scent in the middle of winter. Like strawberry jam. Elderflower and strawberry is almost the same season, and it's way too short. 

Water battles with daddy - a favorite pastime when it gets really hot. 

Taking a break and having some iced coffee. Recently decided I love iced coffee. Nothing fancy, just a hot brewed fresh shot of espresso over half a glass of ice cubes, some simple syrup and milk. Not only does it taste good - sometimes it's the only way to get through the afternoon without falling asleep mid-sentence!

Someone getting new glasses! Of course they had to be green. We agreed on a pair that is black outside and the brightest green possible on the inside. Fine with me.

Big brother also had his first guitar concert. Well, a tiny little one, playing two songs in front of a handful of people, but still. He was nervous, but he did a great job.

Sneak peek at our latest project. That wildflower field you see there? That is our new backyard-in-progress. This is the before shot, and quite some things have been done since. Of course even more remain... oh well.

So there you go, a brief update of sorts. Yeah I know. Lots of pictutes. What? You thought I wouldn't post for four months and then let you get away with three or four photos? Nah. After all, who knows when I'll get around to this again... Kidding. Hopefully.

So hey, it's nice to be back.

Talk to you soon!
Swenja

A Chocolate Party - the action

Chocolate. Soft, sweet chocolate. Something little brother loves dearly. Which could be a reason we decided early on that this year we were going to throw him a chocolate party (the other reason being that this was the perfect excuse to go buy a chocolate fountain. Please don't tell anyone though).

Of course I took way too many photos. And of course there are quite a few I forgot to take or simply didn't have my hands free enough (or clean enough...) to hold a camera. Oh well. I took plenty of photos of some of the preparations, which you can read about here.

So here we go.

Decorations included giant yellow doggie balloons. Because birthday balloons are a very serious tradition around here. Very serious. Since these things can get expensive (especially when you need two, because tradition dictates that the sibling gets one as well, making it four of these per year) I save all the old ones once they finally go flat. One of the most popular ones ever was big brother's giant dog balloon, and since I was overworked, tired and a little tight on budget I couldn't find the perfect chocolate party balloon, I decided that the yellow dog would be just fine, after all they loved it (and it matched the party colors), so I just got him filled up again and bought him a companion. Don't they look happy together?

We had added the garlands earlier in the week, but I felt the urgent need for some simple streamers on the party day. We removed the rug, put down old bath towels and placed our two kid picnic tables from the backyard in the living room play area, hoping that this would keep the chocolate mess in kids reach and away from my white dining room chairs. So the streamers ended up forming a nice canopy.

They also played nicely with the garland and the goodie bags in the background. Yes, I admit to standing in this spot for a full five minutes, admiring my decorations. Yes, I know I am insane. But I just love it when something works as planned. What can I say.

The birthday boy with his crown - same one from last year with a quickly added 4 to it. And no, I didn't dress him to match the crown - I simply figured that the chocolate stains would show the least on a brown sweater... 

I usually refuse to buy strawberries when they're not in season and not grown locally. My kids know that, so they were beyond thrilled when they saw me prepare strawberries for the chocolate fountain. After all, birthdays are supposed to be special occasions, right? So strawberries in winter it was. We also had cookies, blueberries, grapes and bananas.

Since big brother suddenly got a rash and a fever literally five minutes before the party, the first part was a little hectic and I didn't get too many photos of little brother and his guests and gifts. He got the cutest things ever and had so much fun opening all his presents.

When everyone had arrived and played for a bit, we started the chocolate fountain. It works really well and does not get hot at all, so the kids can just enjoy it. The bananas, strawberries and cookies were the biggest hits. I guess you could also do marshmallows, but they aren't popular over here and as far as I am concerned, we had enough sugar already.

With all the sweet things, our prepared milk glasses were refilled quite a bit. I had snipped a few inches off some regular plastic straws, which were apparently great for making milk bubbles.

Here's a shot of the party tables - not as messy as expected, really. Of course we had chocolate mouths and fingers and drips on plates and some shirts, but it was all easily cleaned up.

The birthday boy couldn't get enough!

Now this is where my lack of photos comes in. With big brother at the emergency clinic and a chocolate fountain to clean up, other guests to entertain, I never really managed to get photos of our simple dinner that we served before guests left. I had prepared sandwiches with a large star cutter, and we set out some leftover grapes - oh, and fancy little paper umbrellas never hurt anyone, either (unless you'd poke someone in the eye which luckily nobody did). The sandwiches were prepared ahead and just eaten on the run, they were just too busy playing to be sitting down for long.

Overall it was a fun party, we just wish big brother could have been part of it. He was ok when he returned from the doc though, and although most guests were just leaving, our neighbors stayed for some real dinner and he got to play with their kids for a bit.

We have since done the chocolate fountain thing in little brother's preschool as well -  and I'm sure it wasn't the last time!

So if you'll excuse me now, I have a sudden craving for something sweet, no idea where that might come from...

Swenja