starfiin

once upon a time...

Keaton has been super into storytelling lately. Hearing stories, telling stories, asking to hear the same story again and again and again. And acting them out with his toys.

That + this  resulted in this project...

the first (of many brewing in my brain) playset box.

it's a little wooden box with a latch- it's about 8x8- perfect size for playing at home- or taking in his backpack for when we're out and about and need something to do...

here it is opened up, with all the bits in place-

(the link above that sparked this idea had the box propped open at 90 degrees and I considered doing that, but as I was trying to figure out how to best swing that- I realized there would be more space to play if it opened all the way up...)

birdseye view-

(ooh- that sneaky wolf is hiding behind a shrub in the meadow...)

I was pretty nervous before I painted the wolf (it is obvious I'm kind of a perfectionist? must calm down!) I had a few different ideas on how to make his little face...one was to just pop ears on top and paint his face- but after I molded the ears, I was afraid he'd look too much like a cat... my next plan was to construct basically a mask out of Sculpy - that way I could do ears and a muzzle- really make him wolf-y. But after trying that I decided it made the wolf too realistic and I wanted him to be more a suggestion of a wolf that Keaton could embellish in his imagination...  So I settled on just ears and crossed my fingers that the paint job on the face would work... and I think it does. He's pretty wolf-y without being too realistic.

and here are the piggies and their houses- straw, sticks and bricks

thanks to a little engineering- the straw and stick house are both "blow-down-able"- and with the help of that windowbox of flowers and a "step" inside- the brick house withstands any wind my near 3-year old can throw at it...

here you can see the brick house better-

and here's Buster playing with it...

I gave it to him the other day when he woke up from nap and he BEAMED and said "Oh, mama- me LOVE it!"   WIN!

(I'm considering selling making more and them on etsy... I will keep you posted if I get enough "double nap times" out of the boys...)

 

announcement...

so, now that it's been a while since these went out, I thought I'd share Oliver's birth announcement on here. Especially since he was born during the most recent blog lapse- he deserves a proper intro...

Oliver was born at home (like Keaton) - labor and birth were pretty short and do-able (super intense and a lot of work, yes- but do-able compared to Keaton's birth...) He is a wicked strong, chill happy dude. He wants sleep more than food. Smiled at Keaton on day 2 and hasn't wiped the grin from his face since. He's happiest when he's a part of the action- especially if the action involves lots of talking and or loud music.

and- here's his announcement...

 

 

I designed the whole thing over several insanely hot days last summer when I was way pregnant and just sat in front of the barn fan + A/C with my feet up in order to survive. Then- after he was born- all I had to do was shoot the pics and pop them in. I'm pretty stoked about how it came out...

 

ETA: I've recieved several requests to sell the template for this- so it is now in the works... stay tuned. :)

currently...

I lie in bed at night, after waking at like 3 am to nurse Ollie back to sleep and I think- I should totally start blogging again... But then I get all wrapped up in how to catch the world up and will I have time to post regularly and...and...and, ger.

So, instead of an update post- I'm going to do a "currently" post, cuz right here and now is about all i have the brains for these days.

me- currently: wearing Oliver in the sling, designing for JS.com, eagerly awaiting hoodie weather, reading like three different books about Waldorf/parenting, drinking La Croix (Keaton calls it "mama's spicy juice") avoiding a whole long list of foods for the sake of Ollie's belly and my sanity (dairy, wheat, corn, soy, pork, mustard, grapes + raisins, nuts, etc.), trying to answer all of Keaton's questions about the world, loosing myself in Pinterest like the rest of humanity, making some pretty dope toys for Buster, eating a grapefruit, watching Breaking Bad, singing "Soup in the Woods" in my head...

 

Keaton- currently: asking "why?" and "what this do-s?" and "what doing mama?"  imagining all sorts of awesome- he's a fireman! he's a garbageman! he's a "package truck guy!" he's a tiger!  dancing like a fiend to records on our Edison, eating oatmeal pancakes, telling stories, asking to hear your story and do you have a mouse story? and can you tell it again? and once more?  shoveling snow, stomping in puddles, attending Waldorf once a week, playing with his little wooden figures, driving his little excavators and front loaders and firetrucks and recycling trucks and every other vehicle one can make miniature, "laughing backwards" - meaning so hard he throws his head back, entertaining the world with his "poop jokes" (which is literally "Hey people- Poop Joke!") and learning we don't say them at the dinner table, helping out with any chore or task you may need a hand with, saying "Me do it all myself!"  helping Daddy fix things, wanting to snuggle in his bean chair and read books and more books...

Oliver-currently: eating his hands on the daily, smiling almost all the time- unless he's tired, then he's screaming- and demanding to be put in the sling and danced around to super loud jams, getting way ticklish, awestruck over everything his big brother does, demonstrating his crazy strength and is frankly a little mad he's not standing yet, practicing crawling when he's on his belly, squealing at the top of his lungs in delight, chewing on any fingers that get near his mouth- his own, mine, Ben's, Grandma's, yours... weighing in at about 15 pounds and is too long for anything 3-6 mos size, wishing he could live in the sling, strapped to my chest...

ETA: a couple people emailed to ask about Ben... I didn't put him in originally cuz...I don't know, he's not so much a lime light guy. But I will babble about him now-

Ben-currently: Starting his new full time position with the Air Force, building sweet track layouts on Keaton's train table, wearing Ollie in the sling, reading bedtime stories, brewing more award winning beer, watching travel and cooking shows on PBS, getting up in the middle of the night when Keaton wakes, reading "Simplicity Parenting" and making me swoon, dancing with Keaton to Edison records, shoveling the sidewalk, building new toy shelves, making Ollie laugh, wearing two pair of socks to bed...

 

 

and that's us. right now.

I honestly have no idea if anyone even checks in and reads this any more... mayhaps you could just say "hi" if you happen to...