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Triple party

Triple the birthday boys

Triple the cakes

Triple the fun.

 

Everyone in the family was able to come over today to celebrate the birthdays of the most important men/boys in my life.

My dad--67 years young on June 2 (today!).

My husband---38 years old/young on May 30. (btw this photo is from his actual birthday--by today he had shaved and he looks completely different!)

 

And my "baby" who turned 2 on May 27.

Biscuit directed the decor (it involved a lot of streamers)

I focused my decorations on the gardening theme with the potted veggie favors

Mr. H was in charge of fun with the slip-n-slide. We've defintely gotten our $15 worth of value out of this sheet of plastic.

I was in charge of food. So let's focus our attention there since I'm writing this post ;)

Cakes: Carrot for dad, strawberry for Oscar and chocolate peanut butter for Mr. H. The chocolate peanut butter was the hands down favorite. I made little triple layer 6 inch cakes which were cute but a hassle to bake since I only bought two 6-inch pans. And they all sunk in the middle. Nevertheless--they were yummy. The frosting to cake ratio is very high on a 6 inch cake!

There were also salads.

Pea salad and corn salad from Susan Branch's Summer Book and orzo/spinach salad from her Autumn Book. I guess I was in a Susan Branch mood. Chicken Chutney salad from my mother-in-law's recipe.

Finally, there were gifts. Lots of things with wheels. Wheelbarrow:

Scooter:

And the grand daddy of birthday gifts for our bubble obsessed boy--the bubble mower.

My sister-in-law really is good at choosing gifts.

Meanwhile, Mr. H got his main gift from me the other day:

Most of the family got him add ons (aka: vodka)

So there were margaritas, sangria and who knows what else. It may have been 102 degrees today but it was an awesome day!

Happy birthday, boys!

Me Ma

Lately Oscar has been saying Mommy over and over. "Ma Mee Ma Mee Ma Mee" and at some point it became "Mee Ma Mee Ma Mee Ma" Kinda cute. He also calls shadows "dadows" (both the cat named Shadow that lives at daycare and actual shadows on the ground).

So, Mothers' Day. We mostly celebrated Saturday with my mom which was good because Sunday I woke up to a very sore back and I"m still hobbling around. Nevertheless I was able to go on a Mothers' Day family bike ride and enjoy lots of lounging around with Tylenol (turns out you're supposed to take ibuprofin for a sore back).

Back to Saturday. We went to the Discovery Museum in Sacramento and it was great. Crowded (they were having a special event for Intel) but great. The planetarium show was fun and who wouldn't love a little rocket man?

 

And look, we all launched on Space Quest

It was great to spend the day with my parents and finally go to a museum that's 5 minutes from home but we've never visited as a family.

Mr. H got me lovely flowers--you can tell from Oscar's expression how good they smell! :) and Biscuit decorated and together they brought me breakfast in bed.

which I had to eat at the table so I could appreciate the homemade streamers :)

Then I did a lot of nothing all day partly due to sore back and partly due to Mothers' Day. Not a bad day at all. But now I'm done with back pain thankyouverymuch.

Birthday season

Late May is birthday season around here. Two out of four Haworths will get a year older. So will my dad. So a triple party for the three boys is in order. This year's theme, gardens. I finally got the favors planted.

Hopefully there will be nice seedlings by party time. Or they'll be gifted pots of potting soil. Today I finally finished the invitations. The actual invite is just a photo. I added text in PicMonkey (found via While She Naps) and printed them at Costco. 19 cents each done and done. The photo isn't perfect but it had the perfect amount of background space and it was in the garden so good enough.

For the envelopes I made seed packets.

The design was done in PicMonkey and I used a photo I actually liked better-Oscar with his favorite veggie fresh from our garden.

Best of all, they're finally in the mail.

Now I am 37

Friday was my birthday. For my daily photo project I took a self portrait. I thought I wasn't good at taking self portraits and that may be true but I think the bigger problem is I'm not used to looking at photos of myself so I don't tend to like them. And I look rather uncomfortable.

Anyway, since my birthday is exactly 1 month after New Year's I think it's really the perfect day for resolutions. Gives me time to mull everyone else's resolutions and copy the ones I like. So without further ado, my resolutions for 2013/age 37:

• Take photos of every room for the blog (this includes "finishing" every room--as if anything is ever really done) (this is also a carry over from 2012--oops)
• Read more paper (as opposed to screens) (this includes reading the magazine subscriptions I received as gifts: Sunset, Anthology and Taproot!)
• Complete 6 quilts (6 is a squishy number, just want to complete several before starting more)
• Continue with running/jogging about 3 miles about every other day

Nothing earth shattering but those items feel doable and fun. Should be a pretty good year, right?

The handmade

So , Happy New Year. I'm not quite done with Christmas. I tweaked my back so I had a few useless days in there and now I'm back to normal and finally blogging the Christmas gifts.

I really wanted Mr. H and I to make our main gifts for the kids. So, really, that meant I wanted Mr. H to make the main gifts for the kids because 1. he's super talented and 2. the things they wanted were more wood things than fabric things. So, at the 11th hour he pulled a rabbit out of the hat and made some amazing gifts.

Biscuit mostly asked for American Girl Doll stuff. Check out this dresser! Cherry with cedar drawer bottoms. Mr. H spared no expense for the doll :)

The dresser is already arranged in the doll "nursery" with a globe and a tv etch-a-sketch on top.

For Oscar the car track thing that is still a total hit. Any minute now he'll consistently figure out how to put the car on straight.

Biscuit sewed this pillow for her dad (fabric from Ikea) and made him these pencil holders (cans wrapped in wood grain contact paper). Can you tell he likes wood?

I sewed a wonky-but-functional sleeping bag for the American Girl Doll.

For Mr H. I made a leather koozie for a mason jar. It was half joke half useful now that we use mason jars for cups and I gave him a Cuppow to make a jar into a travel mug. The koozie idea is straight from Design*Sponge. I had been planning to make a quilted thing but leather is way manlier.

I also made my mom and dad an apron with fabric I got printed YEARS ago at Spoonflower and never used. Print is a series of paintings of buildings done by a ~4 year old Biscuit. Dad also got a wool blanket I stitched up and failed to photograph (partially since it wasn't done until December 28. Oops)

And I made a wooden spoon. I was very proud of that spoon but gave it to my sister (with a tea towel I sewed/printed) and failed to photograph either. I'm working on another spoon so I've got another chance.

Mr. H also made several iPad holders (blocks of wood with a slot for the iPad). They were very nice and very well received. No photos.

Finally, Oscar received a toy my grandfather made. My grandfather died decades ago but in retirement he made wooden toys he sold at craft shows and my mom has a large collection she's been doling out to my kids. Oscar got the train. Note the $18 (!) price tag. So cheap.

So, there you go some gift highlights from 2013.

Before I forget--Christmas Eve edition

We finished our official holiday celebrating yesterday (12/27) with gift opening at my parents' home. This following 12/24 gift opening with my sister and her boyfriend+party at my in-laws+visit from Santa and 12/25 morning gift opening at home just the 4 of us followed by cousin/in-law gift opening at the home of my sister and brother-in-law followed by a seriously amazing Christmas dinner. So, with all that celebrating I might be forgiven for forgetting some details.

You might be over the holidays and moving on to New Year's but here's our 2012 Christmas Eve recap.

Our holiday season was liberally sprinkled with illness. Oscar and I had a short but miserable stomach flu three weeks ago followed by my dad, then my mom, then it came back home again for Mr. H and, finally, Biscuit who was sick around the 22nd and 23rd but rallied for Christmas Eve. Just in time, likely, to spread this plague to my in-laws who have so far been spared. Christmas Eve also brought a trip to the pediatrician for Biscuit (non flu related). It was all okay but took almost 2 hours during a hectic morning.

My family arrived (while we were at the pediatrician) for the annual "grown up stocking" tradition in which $20 bills are distributed (courtesy of my parents!) and we all draw "secret" names and depart for the grocery store (or, in recent years, the hardware store) to buy a stocking's worth of potentially useful, probably unusual gifts. This doesn't interfere with Santa because, as you no doubt are aware, Santa only fills stockings for children and grown ups must fend for themselves. Hence the tradition which dates back to when my sister and I were big kids but still at home and my parents were no doubt sick of filling stockings. This year my sister's boyfriend was introduced to this odd tradition. Purchased gifts included: sandpaper, tacks, a travel cribbage board, a BBQ turner, a kite, a flashlight and more.

I do not have any photos of this tradition so here is a photo of our rather pathetic Christmas tree.

By the time I found the missing box of ornaments (in the "attic" in my shed) I was over the tree decorating. Then half the lights went out. Whatever, it did the trick. Now it smells and I'm taking it down when I finish this post.

SO, back to Christmas Eve. My entire side of the family joined Mr. H's entire family plus some friends at his parents' house for our annual gathering involving soup eating (lentil, sausage/noodle, and chicken chili) followed and a special visit from Santa.

Oscar is the perfect age for Santa-fear and did not disappoint.

And, since I'm already going back in time, a few photos from the frantic making of the pre-holiday days.

Biscuit and Mr. H working on Oscar's gift.

Oscar and I (safely) watching the work.

Oh, fine, a Christmas morning shot of the gift in action. It's a hit!

Seeing all these blurry, yellowish iPhone photos you'll be pleased to know I got a NEW CAMERA for Christmas and I am very pleased. Christmas day photos (might be) much better!!

Christmas Eve Eve

Biscuit is happily watching all the TV having recovered from the stomach flu just enough to wrap gifts for an hour this morning before heading back to the couch. It's official, all four Haworths have enjoyed the stomach flu this season. Oscar and I got off easy two weeks ago whereas Mr. H, Biscuit and my parents had it pretty bad. She's missing going to a play with her Grammy and cousins but I'm glad it's looking like she'll be well enough to enjoy Christmas.

She is loving playing "elf" this season wrapping and tagging the presents. She learned how to tie ribbon around a package this morning (start on top, flip, criss cross, flip, tie, loop through and tie--done!) Honestly, our gifts look like crap but I'm happy she's happy and the paper just gets ripped off anyway.

I am still buying (and making) holiday gifts. We aren't celebrating with my parents until December 27 which seems ages away. Meanwhile I still have two things to complete for my sister with whom we are celebrating tomorrow. I best get on it!

apropos of nothing a photo of Oscar in Biscuit's adorable suitcase

Last night I was quite pleased with Macy's (a store I normally dislike). They were open 24 hours and let me use the coupon even though I didn't have it with me. And they had what I wanted and a helpful sales associate. Score, score, score.

Mr. H was up till the wee hours making a gift for Biscuit I can't wait to share here. It's so cute. Oscar's gift ran into a bit of an issue so it might be opened 12/27. Whatever, he'll never know.

I'm eating molasses cookies for every meal (they are still yummy, staleness becomes them) and enjoying the rainstorm outside.

Merry Christmas.

December 17

Right now:

Right now Oscar is napping and snuffling--he's come down with another cold but it doesn't seem to be slowing him down. 'Tis the season for sniffles.

Right now I'm heating water for another cup of spiced tea made with a mix my friend Lisa gave me (thanks, Lisa).

Right now I'm happy to have drafted our annual holiday letter and reflecting on our incredible good fortune this year (and in general)

Right now it's cold and gray outside and I'm rather glad for Oscar's nap giving me an excuse to avoid going for a run. I've been getting back in a running groove but I don't like the cold.

Right now Biscuit is at school safe and sound. I really wanted a goodbye kiss at drop off this morning but we were a few minutes later than she likes (she hates the idea of being even close to tardy) so she ran off without a kiss and I didn't push it. Last Friday I told her a little about what happened at another school far away and we were both teary so moved on to other topics. She hasn't brought it up again. What a sad week.

Right now in addition to being grateful for our family's well being I'm grateful for leftover molasses cookies. I think they're my new favorite and the only cookie that seems to improve with age.

Right now I'm wondering if it's even remotely possible to complete my ambitious "to make" holiday gift list. I'm pretty sure it's not but it's going to be fun to try.

So far today I've helped Oscar make his grandparent gifts (get excited, grandparents ;) and have tied a fake tree to a fake car because it seems to be a trend. I made the wood truck years ago when Biscuit was small. It looks cute like this.

 

Festive

Last night we hosted our annual open house.

I was really disorganized leading up to the party so the last week was spent cleaning, decorating, cleaning, baking, baking and cleaning. It involved a lot of late nights but I actually really enjoyed mixing dough and thinking about the holidays and seeing all our friends. Apparently I mixed a bit too much--way too many cookies.

Then I chopped pieces off our backyard tree and strew greenery and berries from our shrubs all over. Put tea lights in mason jars and called it festive. I actually liked the look.

For once we were ready early (!) and the party was really mellow with folks swinging by, having a drink or cookie and then heading off to their next party. 'Tis the season, right?

Of course I forgot to take many photos (misplaced my phone for most of the party anyway) but I did capture these two making faces at each other. Oscar was a total delight and social butterfly all evening. Biscuit ran around with a horde of kids and led an impromptu "show" of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer completely off key and complete with messed up lyrics.

With lots of leftover cookies and alcohol it's time to move into the merry making of Christmas gifts. I've barely begun on that!

The elf likes it

I've been having a hard time figuring out what to hang on the main wall in our living room. So, I hung a giant branch that blew down in a storm. The jury is still out but I might like it.
The elf definitely likes it.

In other news, I've picked an especially bad time of year for a case of the blahs. I can't seem to get motivated on crafting despite a giant list of projects I genuinely want to make. I just don't want to go make them right now. I tried to snap out of it with a quickie embroidered ornament for our office exchange which is tomorrow.
Meh. It's okay. And with that I think I'll go to bed.