11.

I'm lying next to Savannah and scratching her back, warm with fever. Looking out the window I am thinking about my Mom. And I'm not thinking about how horrible her accident was (though it was) or feeling the deep stab of her absence. No, I am thinking about how incredibly close I feel to her right now and how I know her now better than ever as a mother. I understand how she loved and the intensity of her love. I understand the fun she had with us kids, how important it was to show us a beautiful life. I understand the sacrifices, the way she was pulled in all directions at the same time, her pride in her family and her desire to keep her kids close to her and each other. Her need to be seen as an individual. Her need to express her creativity. I get her, I really do. Having Littles of my own has eased the ache of my mom's death. When my littles lay their head on my chest or kiss me or tell me they want me or love me or draw me a sweet picture or love letter or do something kind to another Little then I think back to when I did the same with my mom and instantly I am transported back to that time or feeling of comfort. This also works reverse in less lovely situations like when My Littles argue with each other or with me and then I think of the pain on my face and in my heart which reminds me of the look of pain and frustration on my mom's face all those times way back when. I feel her close to me in all of these reminiscings or little time travels. I feel her with me. And I am sure as My Littles grow I'll understand her more, love her so much more, miss her even more.

Families.

I made a few cross stitch families as Christmas gifts, would you like to see?

The Potters. Pinga, Nala, Amani, Krista, Kevin, Wrenna, Sheda and Bear.

The Sattlers. Jackson, Jenny, Jared, Hank, G-baby.

The Grafs. Lucas, Angela, Ricardo, Addie.

The Morris'. Cracker, Batty, Luxen, Tara, Jeremy, Olive, Frank, Georgia, Lily.

The Sattlers. Sylvia, Lucy, Dan, Mollie.

 

I ran out of time. As it was I was finishing this last one on Christmas Eve. I wanted to do more and then finish with my own family's. I'm not sure I am ready to pick up the embroidery needle this week to finish by the New Year. My favorite thing about this gift is how much time I get to think about each person and animal I am stitching. It is lovely to really reflect on a friendship or relationship while creating. A nice little kickback to the gift I suppose.

The Little Girls' Surprise, Part 2.

After making such darling little outfits for the little mice, I knew I needed to create a space for these special dolls to live in. I found wooden treasure chests at a craft store, painted the exterior black, the interior a blush color and glued in a closet rod. I put trim as crown molding around the base so that if the girls stand the treasure box on end, the box becomes a closet on the left side, and a bedroom on the right. These photos were taken before the final paint touch-ups.

I bought some copper wire at the hardware store and made sweet tiny hangers. It took a few mess-ups before they turned out just right.

Then I made a mattress set!! I wanted to use this French linen ticking I've had stashed away, then I added some more modern prints, colors and to finish off? a cashmere throw I fashioned out of an old sweater of mine to make the bedroom set just right. These boxes are already wrapped and under the tree and so I didn't take a final photo of the bedroom in which I attached a wall hanging- a little decorative chalkboard just above the pillows. The Little Girls can choose to write whatever they'd like on it. Also, I painted little steamer trunks to go with each mouse you know, for when they travel. I will post a photo of the whole set up after Christmas.

Both mouse houses.
And TA DA!!!!
This is Savannah's.

This is Ivy's.

The finished project.

The Little Girls' Surprise, part 1.

So Hutters. Shhhhh..... this is what I've been working on for The Little Girls.
I bought them each two little mice dolls, and then...

I made a delicious mouse wardrobe X 2!!!!

I made 6 dresses, a sweater dress, a cashmere trench, jeans, a cape/poncho, a scarf, 2 leather handbags (with tiny leather wallets!!!!), 2 oversized leather bags, 2 pair of "Ugg" sweater boots, 7 necklaces, 2 pair of mittens, and not pictured because not yet finished...2 tutus. All the sweater fabric is reuse from my own closet. I wanted to sew myself into the project and make it more meaningful. So the cashmere and stripped knits were previously worn by me.

And the best is yet to come, yep...there's more fun! But not finished yet...stay tuned!

Shhhh...Some Progress.

Hi Hutters,
I'm still busy making gifts while tending to sick Littles and trying to rest up myself. This last month Goo has been wearing a "cape" I made quickly by tearing an old t-shirt and safety pinning it to his superhero shirt. His desire to have a flowing cape undoubtedly a result of watching Nacho Libre twice in one weekend. I love the handmade cape but I know what a kick he would get out of a real superhero cape. And so yesterday Tim took the kids for a bike ride and I stayed home to whip out a spiffy new cape for Grady.

The photo isn't any good but I like the way it turned out, guaranteed to flow just as he wishes his old t-shirt cape would. I know the satisfaction of the potential flowing this cape will achieve because I ran around the house 2...ok, 3 times to make certain proper flowing ensued.

I can't wait for Christmas morning, he will love it.

A Quick Spill.

I've been absent from this space recently because I am busying myself with Christmas projects and getting the flu and cuddling My Littles to sleep, then promptly falling asleep myself instead of getting up one last time to start the dishwasher. I usually write a post after The Littles are tucked in and have stopped getting up for a drink/potty/blow of the nose/one last kiss. Except I am likely to fall asleep before they do and so this space goes unattended.
Last weekend we watched a favorite movie of mine, You've Got Mail. There is a scene in the movie when Kathleen Kelly is looking over her depressingly vacant children's book store, remembering happier times when she and her mother would twirl in the empty spaces between bookshelves. Viewing this scene for the first time with Littles, my own heart lurched forward. I have, in childless times while viewing this movie, attached my happy motherhood pinch-me moments to this scene. The first time I saw this scene in this movie, I made a promise to twirl with my own child(ren) and then added a few other pinch-me moments to my bucket list. One of those pinch-me moment items was to hand make a special gift for my daughter(s) or son. And so just after that scene I decided then and there: it has to be this Christmas' gifts to The Littles. And so that is what I am working on late at night or during school hours or in Art Parliament. I will share soon, must finish first.

Art Parliment.

This weekend Shannon, Rebekah, Hannah and I held Art Parliament. We all met up here at The Hut on Saturday, ready to create. First up? Lip Balm. Shannon brought all the ingredients for making this simple project. The combination of shea butter, beeswax, coconut butter, bergamot, peppermint and fennel made the kitchen smell so good! Tara and kids came over to play too, we all ate stew and enjoyed fun company. On Sunday we continued the crafting, making jewelry and listening to Serial! I worked on a secret project I'll share soon. Spending time with these girls and working alongside them while we explore next ways of creating something beautiful really fed my soul. A weekend well spent cherishing friendship and using our hands.

On Health.

I have learned so much about the health of our family these last 4 days. I don't want to spend a lot of time diving into it here but the biggest bit of information is this: after having Ivy tested by a Naturopathic Practitioner, we now know her chronic stomach aches are largely caused by a sensitivity to food additives. Artificial flavor, natural flavor, preservatives, food color and dye, artificial sweeteners and enhancers. Yep. And so it turns out finding packaged food that doesn't contain food additives is challenging. Not impossible but time consuming and more expensive to be sure. She is on board to change the way we eat, and Tim and I have decided that in order to be supportive, we are all going to say goodbye to food additives and create a healthier nutritional environment here at The Hut.

 

There is no dip Ivy loves more than ketchup and ketchup is laden with food additives. And so knowing that taking ketchup away from Ivy is like taking away the joy of eating, I asked my friend Tara for the homemade Ketchup recipe she uses. We had it on meatloaf tonight for dinner, Ivy loved it. And so here is the recipe if you'd like to give it a go.

 

Ketchup

6 oz. can of tomato paste

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 cup of vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

1/4 cup of water

1 tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until combined. 

Cool ketchup in refrigerator before serving. 

Advent Calendar.

Like many people, we here at The Hut LOVE the tradition of an Advent Calendar.

This calendar is a bit tricky for me though, it keeps me on my toes. I can't start off too strong or I'll run out of steam by the teens and twenties. On my lazier days I pop a treat into the box early in the morning if I forget to fill the box the night before. But this year I want to be less lazy, more creative and only use the treats we rarely have in this house (i.e. NO leftover Halloween candy).

As you can see, I've promised Hot Chocolate to The Littles as a treat while decorating the tree. But here is the thing: I really don't like hot chocolate out of a package, it is suspicious and chalky. I'm not into preservatives and whatever "natural sweeteners and flavors" (read: MSG). So, I am excited to share with you my favorite homemade recipe for Hot Chocolate!

Hot Chocolate

1 cup almond milk

1 cup coconut milk

3/4-1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

 

Pour all ingredients into a heavy saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is hot.

 

makes 4 small cups.