Halloween.

 Spider-Girl, a Gooey Shark and The Peppermint Princess.

 The great thing about staying local to trick-or-treat is seeing all of Savannah's friends from school and their families as well as not breaking our school night routine...too much. In the past we have visited friends' neighborhoods and towns but not our own. Now that Savannah is in Kindergarten, we feel more included in our local community. It's wonderful. We are meeting so many fantastic neighbors and new friends-it's been a great experience.

 Emma, Ivy, Gracie (Savannah's best friend) and Savannah.

 Running into more school friends.

Bobbing for apples.

And one more of Goo as a shark...I can't get enough of this boy!

Autumn Happiness.

 Jack came over the other day. It was just like old times. We took a "field trip" to play in Mill View's pumpkin patch and snack on apple cider donuts.

 When Savannah came home from school we played outside in the autumn leaves. It was enchanting to see these cousins discover the simple joys of a changing season and revel in the company of each other.

Odd Space Made Nice.

We have an odd space in our 1970s kitchen. Originally I believe it was supposed to be a breakfast nook or a space for a kitchen table (how?). At some point we did have a tiny table in the space but we NEVER used it. I have however used the space as an office area, play area, clutter drop off zone and most recently an art cafe/space.

(sept. 2010)

Throughout the last year it has become increasingly clear to me: this is a family that needs a library.

This is how it turned out. 

Now books, magazines, art supplies and my Milk Glass collection all have their place in our little library.

 Drop off zone: my "stuff" in tray, baskets for The Little Girls filled with homework packet, lunchies and art stuff.

 The most overused objects in this library? Jars of crayons, play-doh, pencils and pens.

Covers facing out adding allure and encouraging frequent rotation.

Mix of Tim/Dusty books.

Mirror, Mirror...

Do you ever pass a mirror quickly or see a blurred photo of yourself and think, "For a second there I thought I saw  ____________ (add resembled family member here)." 

Here...

...I see my Mom and my Aunt Susanne. Mostly I see memory resemblances. The memory of what my Mom and her sister looked like when kissing their babies, the way their noses smashed up against skin while their lips pressed skin below in a kiss.
Speaking of resemblances, Tim has strong genes.
Case in point ...

 Tim

The Goo.

 Tim and Savannah, early 2006.
Ever wonder how many kids two people have to make to create a look-a-like?  Apparently three. Babies Savannah and Grady are identical.

A Visit/Update.

 Saturday night we celebrated little Robbie's 4th birthday and Tamber's visit at the Nybo's. It was great catching up with Tamber locally and in the comfort of Eva and David's home. 

Next time we hope to see Jordan too. 

And here is my finished cross-stitch family portrait. 

It was so much fun--I'm hooked (more like obsessed) and already have my next project mapped out.

Busy, Busy Hands.

 The other day I saw this and decided I must teach myself to cross-stitch! And by the Power of Martha, I did. Years ago I inherited my Mom's embroidery thread box stashed along with all of her sewing treasures. I've used some threads in the past for patchwork or tying french knots (the sweetest and best knots), but never been much interested in cross-stitch. The sisters Txus and Jose, who I lived with in Spain, cross-stitched every weeknight while watching TV. Their projects were amazing and incredibly complex. Anyways, I've never been one to shy away from a sewing project or new "home art" related talent (something else I inherited from my Mom) so I ran down to Main Street to grab some embroidery thread in primary colors, fabric, a hoop, some needles and graph paper and scurried home to make my patterns.

Using Martha's magazine for ideas.

Patterns.

 My Mom will roll over in her grave about this mess.

 That's a little better, right?

 Practicing.

 What I've got so far. Soon all the Botting's will be on display...stay tuned.

I Might Be A Giant...sooner or later.

My favorite TV show is Secrets From A Stylist. Emily Henderson is a styling genius, she really understands balance in designing/staging a room and I adore her witty charm. Currently she has this super fun project/blog challenge in the works called "I'm A Giant". When I read about this dollhouse decorating challenge, I ran down to The Honey Hut, blew the dust off my own 4 year-old Alameda Antique Fair find ($60-a steal in terms of dollhouses--the seller should have just given it to me, seriously!) and replaced my enormous jade plant with a residence.

So...I want to do this blog challenge but I haven't the creative time/energy to finish my dollhouse by the December 15 deadline. I need to factor in a lot of thrift and antique shop hunting, Sacramento Antique Fair scouting, eBay stalking and furniture restoration--two Little Girls and The Goo will slow-mo this process. That's OK, I'll do it in my own time. I am excited but mostly encouraged to start a project that has been haunting me since Ivy's birth. I hope you check back with Emily's Blog (her house's style diagnosis here) and see her progress as well as the other "I'm A Giant" challenge designers creations.

[a photo of Marv (r.i.p., damn coyotes!) and Savannah--the day we brought 'House' home October 2007.]

A Visit.

On Sunday Leilani and Kalia came our way for a visit. 

We went to Mill View for Apple Cider Donuts and an amazing view. 

It was lovely having company and lounging about watching the kids. Both of us Mamas marveled about this time last year when we were getting ready for our girlie trip to New York and how so much has changed in a year--specifically the addition of two more children between us.

 I had been looking for an excuse to make these 

and our visit was just that perfect excuse. They turned out amazing. 

It's so easy, try it--you don't need an excuse.

Thanks for coming up girls!

Hip Hip Hurray!

Grady Goo is 3 months old today.

He has been sleeping through the night for a week now, particularly showing off last night by stretching his regular 8 hour sleep to 11 hours straight! I am a proud Mama lately as I have all three thriving kids on a schedule for the first time (I'm a slow learner). In the past I have rebelled against a routine because I wanted to stay spontaneous and flexible (qualities which spurred this blog to existence and provided it's continuous content). But no basic schedule left Tim and I sleepless, frustrated and without free-time let alone time together. The only regularity in this household was/has ever been dinner; in the dining room, every night at 6:30. After Ivy was born, Tim and I experienced personality reversal. He has always been scheduled and I uncommitted to routine (qualities I am certain attracted us to each other), but day after day of saturation in "Mommy-Land" I knew these Little Girls and I needed er...were begging for a change. But it was Tim who didn't want to drive a hard line while keeping one eye on the clock night after night. We dedicated a session of family counseling to figuring out why he and I couldn't see eye to eye on this. In a nutshell, I needed the girls on a schedule in order to get a little break at night especially because I have always been the parent on-call for any midnight cares and worries, where as he was rarely home before 7 and wanted to spend the evenings playing with the little girls-not directing them.You would not believe the amount of times in our parenthood we have had to regroup and get back on track (though starting Savannah in school has helped us with our maintenance issues). Now I fight hard to maintain a routine which benefits all of us while trying to find that carefree spontaneity throughout the day which comes so natural to me. I owe our current success with Grady to Kristi Marsh and her example with her kids (she is a fantastic Mom) and to our pediatrician who promised (a very skeptical) me that if I stuck to the Sleep-Eat-Play schedule, Grady would sleep through the night at 3 months old. Yay, we're there! I'm so excited to clear my head of the cobwebs and fog left by the last 12 weeks of sleepless nights and wake up to less puffy, bloodshot eyes.