Pretty Party

Well, Mr. Gibbs is 1 year old! (I will post some pictures of the sweet boy as soon as I get them from my Pa. I don't have any good ones.) Anyway, this is a fun project I did for his Birthday festivities. I finally busted out the sewing machine! And, this was the perfect project to help me get reacquainted with it--a super easy sewing project. You can find it here. The website's called The purl bee it seems like a great place for fun sewing projects.

I also love this fabric beach ball idea from them.

Dangerous

Well. This post is about Anderson: My little boy that is becoming a "dangerous man." Last night he spelled his name for the first time. A-N-D-E-R-S-O-N! (Really he did all on his own! I have it on video.) And today he started potty training. (So far, he's done excellent!) And lately, he has been saying the most hilarious things. A few days ago he came into the room with a Tinker Toy weapon he'd created and said to me, "I'm dangerous. I'm a dangerous man." And, last night we were reading stories and he informed me that, "Some horses don't have teeth," and that, in fact, "Some cows don't have teeth." Who knew? :) When I asked him where he would like to put his gummy bear treat for the night because it was too late to eat it, he said, "Um, in my mouth." Well, duh mom.

Fabric Houses

My latest obsession is little fabric houses. It has really got me on the verge of busting out the sewing machine. I saw this really adorable wool house at Anthropologie.

And, I've seen a few of them from artists featured on the blog decor8- like these pictured above from Stephanie DosReis. I love those dangling pom-poms and how the houses look kind of topsy-turvy. Most of those I've seen on decor8 are from etsy shops. (Etsy! Oh! Etsy deserves an entirely different post-I LOVE ETSY. If you have not checked out Etsy YOU SHOULD NOW. Seriously, it is a wonderful place where you can buy handmade goods from those who do the making.)


These last two little homes are also etsy artists found on decor8. The first one is a sweet bag made by Syko. I love all the mix-matched patterned fabric that was used. And I really like that it's a bag! And the great pillow house was made by MummySam. I love the embroidered lettering and the scallops on the roof. I also love its tall shape. It makes it seem more whimsical. See, don't those make you want to whip yourself up a little fabric house?

My Favorite Kindergartener

So, Miss Grace has started Kindergarten this week. OH! So sad for me! But, she is loving it! I knew she would. One thing that's really getting to me is the thought of her being gone EVERY DAY for the next 13 years! Seriously. THAT makes me want to cry. I'm going to miss her.

I guess some of my other worries are more "philosophical" ones, for lack of a better word. These worries are perhaps things I DON'T want Grace to learn in school. Oh, please Kindergarten teacher, don't teach her that the "right" way to color is inside the lines. Don't teach her that she can't mix up the play dough. Don't teach her (though, I know you would never do this intentionally, but it seems to happen inadvertently) that learning is something we do, and that school is somewhere we go, when we'd rather be playing. In other words, I guess I'm worried my child's love of learning and her thriving creative spirit might be unintentionally stomped out.

Maybe I'm over reacting. Maybe I've read too much about the benefits of homeschool. I mean, I made it though the public school system with a love of learning and some creativity in tact. Right?

Clearly, I'm struggling here. Advice anyone?

The picture above is classic Grace. She's watching Spirit with her swim goggles on wearing her school pride shirt! You've gotta love her!

Monsoon

Well, it's summertime, and in Arizona that means monsoons: crazy, crazy rain. Aside from the flooding and road closures (moonsoons make for dangerous driving) they are actually something I look forward to. They are amazing storms. Sometimes you can literally see them coming - an insane wall of rain, wind, lightening and thunder. (See Pic: taken outside our house a couple years a go.) They usually come in the afternoons or evenings.

Because it's warm here (that may be the understatement of the year :)), you can enjoy playing in the rain without freezing. My kids jet outside any time they see sprinkles on the windows. Above is Anderson soaking wet, trying to catch some of the cold wet stuff on his tongue.

Grill 'Em

So, we got a grill today. We went out to buy a ceiling fan, and instead, came home with a grill. We've been wanting one for a long time now. And, you know, it's really funny, (and frankly, a little lame) but while Nate was out there grilling, and I was in making a salad, I felt like we had a "arrived" so to speak, sort of like we're a "real" family now that we have a grill. So, it's like somehow in my mind we've been a "pretend" family up to this point-with our 3 kids and our station wagon?!? Who knows?! I think I would have had the same feelings if we had brought home a dog. For some reason in Kristiland those things: grills, dogs, and probably some other things not yet known to me, represent "familyhood". I'm crazy! I know!

So, Hey. Anyone got any good grill recipes?

Beautiful Boy

Little Gibbs is really so sweet, and this is such a great picture. I had to share it with you.