15 February 2011

It's okay, I can reach it now

It seems JR knows how to think outside of the box.  He wanted to get a closer look at what was on top of the TV cabinet, and TJ happened to be in the right place at the right time.  And what did his champion parents do as TJ was yelling, "He's standing on me!  He's heavy!" We ran around looking for my camera.  Don't worry, we found it, actually, that was one of the things JR was reaching for on the cabinet.  
Let's not ignore JP climbing the tower of toys off to the side.  Apparently he didn't learn his lesson after falling off this same tower yesterday and giving himself quite the nasty knot on his forehead.  
Ah, evening chaos.

14 February 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love to celebrate holidays, but I don't like to buy a ton of crap just for the sake of having something to open.  I also have a small stuffed animal addiction.  My Mom still has more than one garbage bag full of them in her attic.  TJ's bed is inhabited by more then a few stuffed animals.  I also think I have high standards in animals.  They have to be cute and they can't be made out of that crappy fur that falls apart when you touch it.  So one day I decided to make my own
For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make something that would involve a heart, but not be too girly.  So I sketched a heart and just stared at it for a little while.  Something made me turn it upside-down, and I knew they just had to be little monsters, because what little boy doesn't like monsters?! I've made enough of these that I knew what I was doing and what little extras I wanted to add, like arms and spikes, plus I've got some new fabric paint that I wanted to give a whirl - since my machine free-hand embroidery isn't the best and I wanted these to look great and go together pretty easily.
I think they came out great!  And so do they. =)

13 February 2011

Library Bag

Here goes another Celebrate the BOY post.  I have a ton of those free advertising bags, and I've never had an inkling to actually carry them but I certainly won't throw them away, that would be wasteful.  My husband wishes I would be more "wasteful" but that's a whole nother post. I've seen those freezer paper stencils all over the blogosphere, and it's been filed away in the back of my head in my things-to-do list.

Then I saw another awesome made post on 1.19.2011 about book bags, and I was again motivated.  What better way to get rid of those pesky bags and try out some of that cool freezer paper stencils? Once I got my freezer paper TJ and I went through some coloring book line drawings and picked out the perfect one, one he liked and one I thought I'd be able to cut out with an exact-o knife without too much trouble.
Voila! What a great new use for a bag that's just been hanging out in the basement.  Now we have a great way to transport our mass amount of library books.
I am now addicted to freezer paper stencils.  I have a few witty t-shirts in the works for the twins, because really is anything cuter then a baby in a The Dude Abides t-shirt?  I have also made towel labels for everyone so I'm no longer trying to keep track of mine in our tiny bath room. I also plan on monogramming the boys' chenille blankets.  I wonder what else I can make?  I wish I had one of those Silhouette machines...

He's so proud =)

12 February 2011

Celebrate the BOY

So over on Made By Rae and made, they are celebrating an awesome thing, BOYS! They are bringing an excellent point to light, there aren't a whole lot of sewing projects for boys...but there are!  You just have to think and their awesome site is putting out lots of fabolous ideas for things to make for BOYS!!  Seeing as how I now have three, I had to do my part of showing some fantastic things that you can make for BOYS!  I don't nearly have the artistic ability as many of these fine sewers, but I do manage to make some cute things just for my boys that they love, so I thought I'd start to share a few.

I follow a lot of fantastic crafting blogs.  They give me the inspiration I need to get out from in front of the TV and behind a sewing machine.  made is AMAZING!  I wish I had her creativity and her photography skills!!  On 11.30.2010 she posted a tutorial for a faux chenille baby blanket and it struck a chord with me.  I have always wanted to quilt, but there have been many things holding me back.  I cannot cut in a straight line, there's a lot of picking coordinating fabrics involved, I don't really have the space to lay it all out and I really can't even begin to look for someone to mail it out to "quilt" it for me.  But then I saw the made post and I knew that that was a quilt that I could make and it would rock!  I had yet to make anything for the twins - time and inspiration were holding me back. But I knew I wanted to make these for them ASAP.  Right after Christmas, Joann gift card in one hand, coupons in the other, off I went and bought everything I would need for two chenille blankets.  I had a lot of fun picking out boy-ish, and hopefully not to baby-ish, fabrics with the aim that I wanted them to get the long haul out of the blankets and since I bought 1 1/4 yard of fabric of each type I didn't have to worry about cutting straight lines!! 
JP and JR are color coded.  Any of you with twins probably understand, I needed something that didn't involve thought, that would allow me to tell them apart at 4am.  Since it worked so well when they were itty-bitties, I've just kept it going.  So JP uses the green clothes, bottles, toys, and now his new baby blanket.  JR is my blue boy and if you've every seen his eyes there really wasn't any question that blue is his color.  I figure it will work when they're older too, towels, backpacks, storage containers, they all can being in the assigned colors. 
They LOVE the blankets!  Sometimes I catch JR playing with the cut side like he holds on to the tags of everything.  I didn't think JP noticed it, until the other day I caught him stealing JRs too, I guess he likes it so much he wanted them both.  They both came out so beautifully I already have the fabric bought for two more special little boys' blankets.  I can't wait to get started!

11 February 2011

Bottles


Why am I still holding bottles?  When TJ was 13-months old he was certainly holding his own bottle.  Neither, of the twins are even making an attempt to hold their own.  Remember, there are two of them and they no longer will wait patiently for the other to finish his bottle.  So there I stand, at every meal, stretched out to one and hunched over the other holding bottles.  The only way I was even able to get this shot was because JP didn't wake up when I came to get them for lunch.
Is hoping for just one of them to start holding a bottle really asking that much?!

09 February 2011

Bon Jovi

I like to think that I have excellent taste in music.  A trait that I seem to have passed down to my children.  When TJ was little(er) his favorite song to walk around singing was Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash.  Of course, in the beginning, the only part he could remember was, "Burn, Burn, Burn," and if you aren't a Johnny Cash fan it would remind you of a scene out of The Shinning.  J&J are displaying their love of fine music already.  This morning during breakfast they started to "Rock Out."  Thankfully, I've realized that they perform amusing stunts without warning and am always prepared with my camera to capture said stunt.  
Mealtimes are always amusing with the twins.  This afternoon I had my act together enough to actually sit down with them and eat my own lunch, I even had a magazine out, and was reading it!  And there lies my mistake.  
I thought I was paying attention to them; I surely would have noticed if, God forbid, one of them started choking, but I was still missing their favorite, silent game, "How much food can I drop on the floor without Mom noticing."  The rules of this game are simple, drop food, one item at a time, onto the floor, if you get caught, game over.  I'm sure when my Mother sees that I have posted a picture of farfalle all over my gross kitchen floor for all the inter-web to see, she is going to be aghast.  But this photo illustrates my very important point - I need a dog!  We used to have a dog, a beautiful, lovable, separation anxiety, seizure having, mutt, named Fiona.  When she was demonstrating her wonderful traits I could not have loved her more, but it has only been since her passing that I realize what her best trail of all was - She ate everything.  Never did I have to sweep when TJ was in his high chair, heck, she even kept the chair itself clean!  The twins' highchairs could not be grosser and with all this freezing weather I can't drag them outside and hose them off, so I'm left chipping dried banana and who knows what out of the crevices of the chairs whenever I can spare the time to be grossed out.  (Or when I catch one of the twins eating highchair leavins that I can't remember serving this week)  So in summation, I need a dog, and TL thinks I'm kidding when I keep saying some spring day he's going to come home from work and we're going to have one.

08 February 2011

Feet

Baby Feet



JR was a big help today. We were heading out the door to the grocery store and JR was kind enough to hold each of his feet up for me to put his socks on. This, however, was his idea of a joke.  The twins' favorite thing to do is to rip their socks off and shake them at me.  It's their way of saying, "Look what I did, Mommy!"  But I'm the one that ends up looking like the terrible Mom who takes their babies out in the cold with no socks on!  It doesn't matter how big their socks are, I can put them in socks that go up to their knees, and I do, and they'll just keep working at that sock until it finally comes off in their hand and they are elated!
Babies with pants still on
TL doesn't help.  He's made JP's favorite game "shake the sock in my face" and it's a tried-and-true way to make JP crack up! I must admit, there are other things that they like to take off, so I guess I should be happy that, so far, socks are the only things they take off in public.  Today, after their alleged nap-time, I came into their room to see two, pant-less,  13-month olds, and boy were they excited about it!


In other news, JR has mastered his "Up" sign.  Ironic, I would have thought his first sign would about involved food like TJ's did.


The "Love Bug"
Speaking of TJ, I was a big sap today and bought a Hallmark Love Bug.  I figured, what better way to celebrate TJ's reading his first book then this little treat.  I did, however, have to explain to him that the bug was merely a holder for the goodies and that he would eventually be traveling to other family members to pass on treats to them for special things that they do.


Later, I was asking TJ about his day and he was telling me that he and his "buddies" play this game, "It doesn't really have a name...but there are these girls....and they chase us...and we like it."  He further went on to say, "They hate me the most because they all want to catch me."  I did explain, as tactfully as I good, that I don't think they would play with him is they hated him.  Oh, to be 5 again. =)

07 February 2011

The Runaway Bunny


Today 5-year old TJ read ALL of The Runaway Bunny to JP and JR while I was putting away laundry!! They were really upset since lunch was late and they were overtired, so every though their bellys were full, they were in no mood for me being in there and preventing their snoozing, so I asked TJ to read to them.


"But Mom, I can't read."


"Fine, just pick a book out a tell them about it."


Next thing I knew he was actually reading! He needed my help on maybe 5 words for the whole thing! He even stopped to turn the book and show JP and JR the big color pictures. What a good big brother!!