Back to school cupcakes

If you lived in my neighborhood you would have been invited to enjoy a cupcake with us as we said goodbye to summer and hello to a new school year. Here's to school supplies, new backpacks, lunch boxes and brand new kindergartners!

County Fair

A note about this picture of Nat and Noah: I love the way that Noah looks like one of Nat's appendages-- effortlessly supported and completely at ease. He is such a natural father.

Perspective

I have a tendency to think that I am the busiest person in the world; the most cleaning to do, the most kids to take care of, the most meals to make, the most trips to get ready for/ recover from, you get the picture. But I just had a wonderful realization. I'm not.

I am not pregnant and puking.

My husband is not in the throes of finishing his dissertation.

We are not in the middle of a move.

I don't have a newborn. (I do love newborns, just not the accompanying chaos, hormonal changes, and constant nursing.)

I have been in all these places (most of them more than once). Remembering that allows to relax and thank my lucky stars that I currently can carve out time to go to the gym, sew occasionally, and make my bed every few days.

Life is good.

Freezer paper stenciling

Do you recognize this dragon? He is making his way into all sorts of craft projects lately. The dragon shirt was a long time coming. Mostly due to the fact that I had a hard time finding freezer paper. Luke was glad to finally see his dream come to fruition. He did all the painting himself (I had to cut the stencil and iron it on).

Isaac's dragon has a case of brain edema. This came from a slight run of the fabric paint that I had to round out into a swollen head. I wouldn't recommend reusing the stencil, just cut a new one.

Bedtime Pouch

Here's a little pouch to store jammies and a bedtime story. It was a birthday gift for a sweet little one year old. I have to say that I kind of love the little lamb. How much fun is it possible to have with felt?

For the Bell Children

green shark for Ian (pronounced "dreen sawk" in Ianese)

another dragon for Jakob, the original lover of dragons.

sweet little chick for Eliza Jane

My craft area is in the basement and is seeing a lot more movement with the hot weather. As a result, all the writing utensils in the Bell household have new homes.

Stuck

This is a very funny stage to me. Isaac crawls and climbs all over the place with no regard for where he will end up or how he will get out. I heard crying yesterday afternoon, looked over and he was stuck straddling a bin of toys. He was practically doing the splits.

Here is evidence of this stage with the other boys. In fact, I think Luke is stuck under the exact same chair as Isaac is here. I have big plans to reupholster them... someday.

Growing up

I have been acutely aware of our family's increasing vulnerability as we come to an end of the at home years and enter the world of public school, playing more with neighborhood kids, and just general exposure to different morals. I came across this well timed talk tonight. Timeless council from a chosen vessel and words of great comfort to a worried mother.

Enjoy.

Mountain Goats

The good news is that Luke has resurrected his Diego/Jedi vest as an explorer vest and it served him well again this weekend. The bad news is that Nat almost stepped on a venomous snake (a facebook discussion revealed that it was an Eastern Timber Rattlesnake thanks, Canoelover).

The last time I hiked this "mountain" was days before Isaac was born. I think that I may owe this little hike some credit for his smooth delivery (I swear by walking to prepare for labor). It is fun to remember that the last time I was here Isaac was on the inside. Time passes so quickly and the family changes are so subtle in the day to day but dramatic when you look back just a couple of months.

Dear August

You and your tomatoes and peppers are welcome anytime. I'll put them to good use.

For Jacob, the neighbor

We love our neighborhood. It's almost too good to be true; chili cook-offs, outdoor movie nights, rented inflatable moon bounces, and Christmas caroling complete with an appearance from Santa (to name a few). But, the best part of the 'hood is that just about anytime you need company or an easy conversation you can walk outside and find someone to chat with. The neighbor just two doors down is also a stay-at-home mom who just had her second baby. Noah and Luke think of them like family. Noah, in fact, when questioned in Nursery today about who he lived with stated, "Mom and Jacob." We celebrated Jacob's second birthday on Saturday and so Luke whipped up a little coloring book as a gift. I have to take a moment to gush about how much I love this boy's handwriting, imagination and drawing. He thought that Jacob would like to color a few of his favorite things.

Have a peek:

(this is the baby brother who was just born and is, in Luke's words, "tiny")

Darling isn't it? I made him this little crayon roll to go along with it. I used fleece instead of felt on the outside. I liked the result but wish that I had a pinking blade for my rotary cutter to make the lines a little straighter.

This is what I made for his mother and father:

Doesn't everyone need a completely from scratch peach pie to get through the early days?

And this is what I made for his "tiny" brother:

Cubs Game at National Stadium

All three boys have donned this little Cubs onesie at about this age. Isaac, however, wore it at National stadium and the other two were at Wrigley. Go Cubs!

Cheap Thrills

I was downstairs nursing the baby in peace while Nat finished bathing the kids upstairs. I heard the toilet flushing repeatedly. I went upstairs and this is the scene I found and these are (a few of) the questions I heard:

• But where does the toilet paper end up?
• Where is that water going?
• How does the water get back into here?

This questioning and exploration lasted a good twenty minutes. The boys were riveted.