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Friday, January 27th, 2012

Birthdays Galore

It’s been a busy week or so, with Monkeyboy Jr. turning 8 (!) and Monkeyboy Junior Jr. turning 3 (!!). A week of laser tag and pizza and balloons and Rice Krispie cake and new toys and sushi and birthday cards and parties and… well, you get the idea. In between all of that, I’ve been trying to get some costumes and props made for the upcoming Loose Moose Theatre for Kids show that my husband is directing. And doing battle with a serious sinus infection. Oy. I’ll be glad when January is over.

Anyhow. We didn’t want to go overboard with toys and such this year – the eldest would get plenty from his friends at his party, and the youngest has already inherited a ton of them from his big brother – not to mention that Christmas wasn’t even a month ago… So. The eldest got a Lego set and a Wii game, and the youngest got a Fisher Price Batman set and clothes. But not just regular clothes. I decided to make Monkeyboy Junior Jr. a couple of shirts that I knew he’d absolutely adore. He’s a fan of both “Angry Birds” and “Max & Ruby” right now, so I did a Google image search for both of these things.

I found this image for an American Apparel t-shirt…

… which, after some editing and printing onto a decal, became this…

He was so excited that he had to change shirts immediately! Until he opened the next one, that is.

I had also found this image for Angry Birds cupcake toppers at…

… which again, got edited and turned into this…

… which in turn, got turned into this…

He was so excited by *this* shirt that he didn’t even bother to take the dragon shirt off before he put the Angry Birds one on! His older brother was also so enamoured by the shirt that I had to make him one too. Then, of course, I had a hard time getting them both to take the shirts off at bedtime! Silly boys.

There was a little bit of plain white decal left over from these shirts and I used it to modify a tee that I found at Wal-Mart? Target? (something like that) over the Christmas holidays when we were in California-Arizona.

It’s a VERY subtle Scott Pilgrim reference, and should have read “BOB-OMB”, but “BO-BOMB” just didn’t look or sound right…

Anyhow. I’ve got an ocean to sew (quite literally), and some goats to construct, so I’d best be off. Hope y’all have a great weekend!

Tags: Angry Birds, birthday, dragon, Loose Moose, Max & Ruby, Scott Pilgrim, Sex Bob-omb, t-shirts, theatre for kids

Posted in Crafty, Family | No Comments »

Monday, December 12th, 2011

I’m Still Here

Busybusybusy. And MORE busy. But yes, I am still here. The Christmas season is always ridiculously full, even when I’m not participating in any craft fairs it seems. So, in lieu of a bunch of posts about all the hubbub, here are a few snaps from my gratitude journal – after all, I still have waaay too much to do to be hanging out here .

There has been MUCH long-overdue basement, bedroom, and living space culling and organizing recently…

(I’m hoping to do a whole post about Monkeyboy Junior’s new bedroom when I get a bit more time… it’s pretty cool!)

Traditional Christmas preparations, like decorating, creating a family photo, and sending out cards…

[As an interesting side note, our family photo from a few years back appears to have gone viral and made it onto some "Awesome" and "Worst" Christmas Photos lists... Weird! I am also hoping to do a post about this year's versions when I get a few minutes...]

Festive treats like hot apple cider, gingerbread cookies, and advent calendars (which take the form of LEGO around here)…

Crafts with the kids (Shrinky Dinks!!!) …

Visits with Santa…

And getting together with dear friends…

And on top of all of that, there’s the whole shopping thing…

And the creation of various gifts for people, which of course, can’t yet be revealed. WHEW! So, yeah. Things around here have been busy…

At any rate, I hope that things are going well for y’all, and that the season is “merry and bright” for you. On the off chance that I don’t have time to get back here before the “big day”, Merry Christmas to you and yours! =)

Tags: busy, Christmas, gratitude journal, Merry, preparations, snaps

Posted in Christmas, Family | 6 Comments »

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Jeepers – Creepers!

Ah, Hallowe’en. The time of the year when I get to have a little fun with costumes. This year Monkeyboy Junior decided he wanted to go as a “creeper” from the game “Minecraft”. Um… okay? I have never actually played the game, but was informed that they look a little something like this…

Except maybe without the top hat. Oh, and that they hisssss. Hmm…

Well, we found an army costume at the Walmart that the boys thought would work for the body, and then we got around to constructing a head this week. First, I used my design program to cut and paste a bunch of greenish boxes together at random. I tried to match the army costume colours instead of the game colours, though I am informed that this makes it look like he’s made of gravel (whatever THAT means…)

Then we found a box that fit his head, cut out the face, and then started taping the pages we’d made onto it using scrapbooking squares and Scotch tape.

He seemed to really enjoy those sticky squares for some reason. o.O

When it was done, he was really pleased with how it turned out.

I stuffed some quilt batting into the corners so that the box would stay centered on his head, and voila – a hissing creeper.

His buddies at the dance last night seemed to really enjoy the costume too (woohoo!!!), although I have no proof of this as my stuffy head prevented me from remembering to take a memory card for the camera. *le sigh* I hate it when that happens!

Meanwhile, Monkeyboy Junior Jr. was apparently designing his own Hallowe’en costume…

Though, I’m still not too clear on what he’s supposed to be.

Well, we’re off for a sleep away camp for Beavers this weekend, so there will be no more costume fun for us until Monday. Hope you all have a safe and fun Hallowe’en weekend! BOO!

Tags: army costume, box, creeper, creeper costume, DIY, Hallowe'en, minecraft, Scotch tape, scrapbooking squares, Walmart

Posted in DIY, Family | 4 Comments »

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Monday Mosaic: October 21 – 23

After a Friday of Monkeyboy Junior Jr. whining, he finally collapsed in front of the computer…

… and we snuck out for date night.

Which consisted of Mongolian grill…

… and quiet shopping. At Costco (for my hubby), and Michael’s (for me), and Chapter’s (for us both). Now, here’s an odd little something I found in my puttering.

Vampire Knits?!?! Um… okay…

I spent Saturday morning knitting (in a very non-vampire way, I might add) and trying to relax… because I spent the afternoon getting prepared for my first crown.

While watching The Wolf Man (1941) was somewhat distracting during the procedure, two days later and I still feel like I got punched in the face. Hard. Blech.

But I came home to find this, and that made it a little better.

His wee hands look so much like my own…

That night, my husband went off to do a show and I hung out with the boys. They were pretty darn cute playing and reading just before bed.

On Sunday, I woke up grumpy. I pretty much kept to myself for the morning, and was grateful that the boys decided to put up the Halloween decorations without me. That put me in a better mood.

That afternoon, Daddy took Monkeyboy Junior out on a “boys date” to see some movie about boxing robots and have dinner. Monkeyboy Junior Jr. and I puttered in the back yard.

I decided to harvest a few more veggies – beets, chard, and carrots this time.

Though the carrots, as you can see, were a little disappointing. I’m still not sure whether it was the weather, aphids, or just the different variety of seeds I got this year. *le sigh*

I tried to cheer myself up with the last of the lavender…

… and apologized for disrupting all the poor little ladybugs hiding in the leaves.

Then the littlest and I shared some Vietnamese bun for dinner and called it a night. Put it all together, and it looks kind of like this…

Hope your weekend was more enjoyable than a crown at the dentist!

Tags: before bed, carrots, cat, Chapters, computer, Costco, crown, dandelion, decorations, dentist, driving, eating, Hallowe'en, ladybugs, lavender, Michael's, Monday Mosaic, Mongolie grill, playing, pumpkin lights, reading, shopping, skull, sleeping, The Wolf Man, Vampire Knits?!?!

Posted in Family | 6 Comments »

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Another Monday Mosaic

As well as enjoying a lovely camera-testing nature walk (see previous post), the weekend was also otherwise fun-filled. Friday was spent running errands – like buying new knitting needles, so I could start on a new and colourful sweater. (I’ve always wanted a more “playful” sweater, and they only seem to make them for children… so, I’m making my own!)

Then, I spent some time fixing up my husband’s Batman costume so that his “crotchal area” isn’t as… tight? Prominent? Uncomfortable? (In any case, I spent far too much time staring at it… )

(Ha! Made you look… didn’t I??? Double ha!!!)

That night, I was supposed to accompany my hubby to the theatre to watch him and his buddy Rob perform improv as “The Dynamic Duo”… but by the time the sitter showed up, I was kinda pooped. So, I had her take the kids to the mall for a couple of hours, got a few little things crossed off my “to do” list, and then hit the tub with Oprah!

By the time I was done, the kids were tucked in bed and all I had to do was pay the sitter and hit the hay as well. It. Was. AWESOME!

The next day started with the usual goofiness – like the boys playing in an upside-down tent…

… and it ended up at the theatre for a wonderful kids presentation of “Sleeping Beauty”.

Meet the good fairy Rrrosemarrry. I think the spy-cam did pretty well for 5th row seating. Sadly, Monkeyboy Junior Jr. did not do as well – he wigged out as soon as the lights came down, necessitating daddy to hang with him in the lobby for the first half of the show, and mommy for the second. At least there were books to read.

Then it was home for some chillaxin’ – and a nature walk before dinner.

On Sunday, I knit some… and then did some sewing for a friend. When Monkeyboy Junior first arrived, I was gifted a giant, square receiving blanket. I loved it so much, that in spite of my sleep deprivation, I had to make myself some more. They were awesome!!! Soooo much handier than the regular ones you get in the stores… So, I’ve been gifting them to friends who’ve had babies. And one of those friends wanted me to make some for someone she knows, who is now expecting. They even come with coordinating square wipes. =)

We wrapped Sunday up with a delicious fall roast…

(Here it is post-browning but pre-baking, as I seem to have a really hard time remembering to take photos of food after it’s done cooking.) Dinner was not only tasty, but interesting too, as Daddy tried to explain scientific concepts such as displacement, heat transfer, and weight to the seven-year-old. “No, buddy, 5 pounds of bricks do not weigh more than 5 pounds of feathers…” Put it all together and you get:

Ta-dah! Yeah. It was a good one – hurrah! (And can I just say again just how much I love the new Coolpix?!) Anyhow. Hope you had an amazing weekend yourselves. =)

Tags: baby, bath, books, cooking, costume, improv, knitting, letters, Monday Mosaic, nature walk, Oprah, Pixlr-o-matic, receiving blankets, roast, Sleeping Beauty, sweater, tent, theatre

Posted in Family | No Comments »

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Monday Mosaic… on Tuesday

Since yesterday was a holiday for us, I didn’t quite get around to my Monday Mosaic… (And last weeks…well… yeah. That just didn’t happen.) Anyhow, here are some snippets from our weekend. =)

I spent some time Friday putting together a frame of photos from LMTC’s Homecoming festival last year – to put on display for the festival this year. Monkeyboy Junior Jr. was clearly not impressed with my being preoccupied for a good part of the day, as when it was done (and whilst I was busy in another room), he flipped it over, took off his diaper, and pooped on the back of it. Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up. =/

Naturally, I retaliated with a full-on Nerf war.

Saturday saw some serious superhero activity…

…and some super-cute ballet dancing (with the likes of Peppa Pig). Oh, and some amazing eats that I was too busy enjoying to photograph – yummy sushi and Dairy Queen ice cream, oh my!

Sunday started with some traditional bed-bouncing…

… which this particular monkey is particularly good at.

And then it progressed to fort building…

… which this particular monkey wasn’t too clear on.

And even though the boys were very go-go-go, this year we didn’t actually host a Thanksgiving dinner, nor did we have to go to any dinners. Not that I’d want to do this every year, but it was a nice break to just hang out with each other and take it e.a.s.y… We had a lovely roast chicken dinner and watched some television together. Ahh.

On the holiday Monday, we again were very lazy for most of the day, and then went out and took some “romping in the leaves” photos – but it’ll take some time to edit those, so that’ll have to wait for another day. Anyhow, I hope your weekend was equally enjoyable, and that you too have much to be thankful for. =)

Tags: ballet, blanket fort, Family, LMTC, Monday Mosaic, monkeys jumping on the bed, superheroes, thanksgiving, weekend

Posted in Family, Photography | No Comments »

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Weekend In Review

It was a busy, busy weekend my friends!

It started on Friday, when my son filmed his first commercial!

He spent four hours basically eating popcorn and trying not to look at the camera. When asked what he thought of the experience, he replied “It was kind of boring, actually.” Ah, stardom.

The cool part is that it turns out I knew both the director and the camera “guru” from my school days. Crazy small world, isn’t it?

We decided to celebrate the occasion with a family dinner out at Monkeyboy Junior’s choice – Earl’s.

Which started out fine, with us passing the time waiting for our table by chasing the baby around the empty patio…

… taking pics of the various potted plants…

… and patio details…

… but which ended in tears when it was time to go inside and actually sit down. Poor boy had a bit of a cold and just wasn’t dealing with disappointment very well. Plus, he’s two.

On Saturday, I finally started my Daisychain Sampler (via Posy Gets Cozy’s Alicia Paulson).

We snacked on yummy eats on the back deck, in the sun…

Admired the fall colours and enjoyed the warm weather…

And even put up a few autumn decorations to mark equinox.

On Sunday morning we enjoyed some monkeys bouncing (and happily falling) on the big bed…

… followed by quilty-tent burrowing…

… and cuddles. That was my favourite part of all.

The weather was ridiculously nice for the first weekend of fall, and I celebrated by drinking a delicious smoothie in my cutie summer pj’s.

The rest of the day was pretty much the same as Saturday, which was nice and relaxy – especially after a bumpy night of sleep with wee Mr. Sniffles.

And that was our weekend. I hope yours was equally enjoyable. =)

(P.S. For those of you with a keen eye… you may have noticed some NEW effects from Pixlr-o-matic! All sorts of new goodies to try – go check it out.)

Tags: Alicia Paulson, big bed, commercial, cuddles, Daisychain Sampler, decorations, dinner out, Earl's, filming, Monday Mosaic, monkeys jumping, Pixlr-o-matic, pj's, smoothie, tears, weekend, yummy eats

Posted in Family, Photography | 8 Comments »

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

Snazzy Shoes

I took Monkeyboy Junior Jr. with me on some shopping errands today, and he managed to snag some boots off a shelf whilst I was looking at some shirts for the boys. He absolutely did not want me to put them back. I thought they were pretty cool, and he gets SO many hand-me-downs as it is that I figured maybe he was due for something new… I gave in and picked them up, and not only does he love to wear them (most other shoes end up removed about 5 minutes after going outside), but every once in a while he will just stop whatever he is doing and ever so quietly “roar”. So. Freaking. Adorable.

Tags: dinosaur boots, hand-me-downs, new shoes, Pixlr-o-matic, roar, shopping with kids

Posted in Family | 2 Comments »

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

August Break 2011 – Day 7

Monkeyboy Junior Jr. had belly issues last night. Very messy and painful belly issues. I think I finally got to sleep around 3:30 am, and it was lightly, on the floor outside his room, so I could listen to make sure he didn’t choke in his sleep or anything… Luckily, he woke up in a chipper mood, but I am completely exhausted today. Thus, no pretty photos and no playing around. Just a snap I threw off in the wee hours as I tried to distract him from his woes with a little TV. *yawn*

Tags: 2011, acid reflux, August Break, belly issues, exhausted, snap, yawn

Posted in August Break, Family | 4 Comments »

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Cali 2010: Family

Okay, let’s wrap this up, shall we? So, for the second half of the trip we’ve already covered beachy goodness and our morning in Pacific Grove. Other than that, there was just lots of eating and visiting and playing on the beach, so I guess I’ll make the last post a monster one about, well… “us”, I suppose.

This is me just minutes after we checked in to The Best Western in Seaside, and promptly hit the beach. Happy!

And here are the boys – itchin’ to get wet. Moments later, the baby ended up sitting in the surf, and our excursion came to an end.

The next day, after a little shopping, the nicer weather prompted Monkeyboy Junior (MBJ) and I to head out for another explore.

He was quite content to play in the sand…

…and I was just quite content.

Of course, a game of Wave Chicken eventually broke out…

…and we both got just a little bit goofy. AAAAAHHHHH!

Later that night, we met up with my sisters – who drove up from LA to meet us – and we headed out for dinner. Mmm, Chili’s! However, I have come to the conclusion that photos taken at restaurants are seldom flattering, so let’s just keep it moving, m’kay?