A very important word..........

Our Little Munchkin has learned this word and uses it very, very regularly.......WHY???

Here she is at school busy as always.  Her mum's hair was up in a bun, and she wanted hers up in a bun..........

We are on baby watch now, as one is due in 10 days and the other on June 9th (c-section).

Our Little Munchkin's things I have made her......

First, thank you all for your lovely comments.  I really appreciate them.  

Our Little Munchkin was two in November and is growing so fast.  Since she moved up a class in school, her talking has improved ten fold.......to the point she never shuts up!!!  She is so funny and comes out with the funniest things.  Her latest is, "I'm tired," said in a whining voice when she doesn't want to do something.  Then for extra effect if her mother is about she will snuggle into her and suck her thumb, which she does when she is tired.  However........if you wait a minute or two she forgets she said she is tired and is running around like a crazy person again!

She had the biggest meltdown the other night, because her dad put toothpaste on her toothbrush and she likes to do it.  Dd sat her in her bedroom and dd sat on the bed watching her till it all blew over, then she got into bed and went to sleep for the night.  I would love to be able to understand a toddlers mind.  Our Little Man can go into full meltdown mode if someone else other than him puts his clothes into the laundry hamper???

As I said to dd, this is why young people have children, as us older ones would be worn to a frazzle with toddler's and their meltdowns!

Anyhoo, back to what I have made for her.  I did show you the apron, as she loves to help in the kitchen.  However don't ask her to wear it any other time, as she won't, it's specifically for helping in the kitchen.  When she tried it on to show me it fit, she was Facetiming me.  She promptly took the phone and popped it into the apron pocket and wandered off, with me shouting, hello, I'm still here!!

I also made her, her first handbag/purse, I used this pattern and altered it to suit me:

I did make a matching change purse to go inside of it, but didn't take a photo.

I also made all three grands little pixie baskets a while back.

Finally here is a photo of her taken at the beginning of the month for picture day at school.  Now her dad had to get her ready as her mum was at work, so her hair is straight forward, (actually not sure what dad did to it?), as dad like Nana doesn't have the expertise to do the fancy braids like her mum does.

The dress is from the Gap, as we bought it, and probably the rest of the outfit is as well.  We get great deals from the Gap when the sales are on.  She is super tall and is in a 3T and in some cases a 4T because of her height.  She is at least a head bigger than most kids her age.  Her dad is over 6 feet.

Penguins and Monster's, oh my!

On Saturday I was on babysitting duty while Our Little Munchkin's parents went on a "date," to the boat show.

I picked up these cookies for our treat, you can read more about them here:

We had fun biting off their heads, and then the "arms."  I also showed Munchkin how to walk like a penguin.  At Christmas we had Christmas Crackers that had wind up penguins in them.  I brought that game down so we played with the wind up penguins for a bit. I got the Christmas Crackers from Pier 1 , 2016's Christmas Crackers are going to be these ones.  All bought on sale of course!

After we played with the penguin's I brought out the monster book.

You had to put the eyes, nose and mouth on the monster's faces.  They are reusable stickers so she should get a bit of use out of them. 

Then she decided to go "grocery shopping,"

The only problem with that is it is really hard to carry three baskets, and trying to push your grocery trolley with teddy in it, with only two arms!!

She was a delight and very well behaved.  She is growing up so fast and you can actually have a conversation with her and get somewhere!!

Little Munchkin's outfit is from Gymboree, this top and these leggings, all bought on sale of course.

Peppa Pig and the Garbage Truck..........

Well I am saying hi from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Would you believe they  (US Customs) let That British Woman and her hubby into the US of A again????

Have lots to report, but if you are on my Facebook page you saw me mention our busy day that involved Peppa Pig and a garbage truck on Monday.

Now for those of you who are not in the know Peppa Pig is a delightful cartoon character from Britain and Our Little Munchkin ADORES her.

Dd asked us before we left if we would have time to pop to a Toys R Us store when in Lancaster County and pick up a Peppa Pig ball pit for her, as we can't get it at Toys R Us in Canada.  

(Credit)

The store was around 40 minutes from where we are staying but that wasn't a problem.  We decided however to ask at the local Toys R Us store to make sure that store actually had it in stock. They were so nice in that store and got them to do an actual physical check and it turned out that they didn't have the actual Peppa Pig one.  So we said we would drive further if another store had one and they found one at a store around an hour and a half away.  No problem after all it was for Our Little Munchkin.

By this time it was 4 pm and we decided at the spur of the moment, that we would drive over there and then.  We would pick up the ball pit and have a bite to eat and be back by 8 pm.

We have a great GPS so plugged in the address and off we go.  We decided to use a toll road as it was faster; again no problem.  It was rush hour, so a bit slow going at times.  Did get a bit of a shock when we had to pay $9.25 toll fee, but we got there.  And sure enough they had put aside the Peppa Pig ball pit.  Decided we should get extra balls, so picked up another 100+ balls.

Get back into the car and decide we were not paying another $9.25 in toll fees so would go the longer way home, but it was going to take an extra half hour.  At this point its only 5:45 pm, so with stopping off for something to eat we would still be back by 8:30 pm at the latest.

We really had no idea where we were going other than on the I95 interstate.  Dh kept saying to me, I hope this isn't taking us through Philadelphia; it better not be taking us through Philadelphia?  Well you guessed it, that's exactly where it took us.

Then to add to all of this we got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams.  We were literally crawling for I think 9 miles.  Turned out a Garbage truck had broken down and was blocking off a lane.  Plus there was some sort of sports game; I am guessing American Football on at the stadium.  The traffic was just awful.  How one broken down vehicle could cause that much chaos was beyond me.  Why they didn't tow it off the live lane was also a puzzle.

Suffice to say we finally got into the hotel around 9:30 pm.  We slept like logs and we can actually say we have been to Philadelphia.  From what little we saw it actually looks like a pretty nice place.  We will not be going back though this trip, as we have plenty of other things to do.

We did stop for a bite to eat on the way home, but were in and out in no time as we were the last customers being served.  Will say we have had great food on this trip so far.

Now those customs guys had better not want to do a thorough search of the truck, as if they empty out all those bloody balls, I am not going to be happy; they can pick them up!!  The things we do for our kids and grandchildren!

When you go out with Nana.......

She tries to take a selfie of you and fails miserably:

Then irritates you when she tickles you on the cheek with this:

Then insists on telling you, you have to eat all your lunch when all you want to do is go for a nap;

And she is back again today, as Granddad is helping mummy and daddy install fans in our bathrooms.  

A bit of this and a bit of that........

Just seen a hot air balloon go past the house.  Looks kind of fun, if you don't mind heights.......

The morning's are so nice and cool at the moment, just love that.

Dh's hand is on the mend, still wearing the brace at work.

Talking about his work, the factory where he is contracted out to had to call the police in, as someone was growing marijuana plants in the grounds???  No one was arrested!

Dh was up at 2:30 am this morning to go to work........hopefully he'll be home by lunch time......

Our Little Munchkin went on a Thomas the Tank Engine train ride last weekend and had a great time:

This week she also said Nana without someone prompting her to say it!

Got all 9 gnomes done, just making another three now as "spares."

Our Little Man was running a temperature this week, but is fine now.  He'll be one on September 12th.

Our Little Princess has a new name now; "Little Miss Chatterbox," as she never shuts up and is always asking why.......sound familiar!

Going to get the yearly sticker/licence for my car today, as it goes up $10 in September......AGAIN!

Right; better get in the shower as just just after 7:30 am.  Have a great day!

I am around.........

it's just been a quiet week due to the hot and humid weather.  I have been hibernating so nothing much has been happening.  We had some nasty weather go through yesterday and last night.  No damage on our property, but a lot of damage was done close to where we used to live.  At least now with all the rain yesterday the grass has had a good water.  We are not happy with the way they are watering the grass.  We do have a sprinkler system, but it is controlled by the "sprinkler people."  We are also not allowed to water our grass............less said about this the better...LOL

Sad news from Britain, a beloved entertainer, Cilla Black passed away; she was only 72:



I love this song which I heard on an advertisement.  It is also a pretty neat video with a great message it is well worth watching:


And finally Our Little Munchkin may be a soccer player much to her Granddad's delight as he is a big football/soccer fan.

Out in the garden

Someone's Nana remembered to bring stickers and something to stick them onto, making two little girls happy.

 Having a snack of watermelon and grapes.

 Our Little Man deciding he wanted to also do stickers!!!

Always a pleasure seeing all three together.  Next time will be at Our Little Man's birthday in September.  The girls get on together well and know how to share, which is super important; and luckily Our Little Man, knows to keep out of the way of the women and do his own thing!!!  Clever boy.

Home of the Week and Our Little Munchkin

This week's "Home of the Week," is a very elegant home with a pretty hefty price tag of $3.1 million on it.  It is very tastefully decorated and rather large.  It would make a lovely family home though for someone with a big pot of money.  Again it's a location thing that's why it's that price.

This week's "Condo of the Week," is on the market for $649,000.  Only has one bedroom, with no door, but does have a large office, so you can work from home.  The way it is decorated leaves no room for children with sticky hands visiting!!  The upstairs outdoor space is very cozy and usable.  Perfect for a single person, or possibly a couple.

As usual the "Cottage of the Week," is more like a bloody mansion with the price tag to match!  For $2.6 million you can have this "cottage," and if I had the money I wouldn't say no.  I love how it is decorated and the brightness in the place but that's a lot of money for a vacation home.

For Gill's "Cottage of the Week," I thought I would see what we could buy for under $200,000 this week.  I came up with this one, which is on sale for $199,000.  I was in two minds about showing you guys this one, as I really like it and don't want any of you buying it!  It's on the river and quite substantial and not badly decorated.  I could live here myself.......must show dh it....

Someone had a hard day at daycare/school on Thursday.  She fell asleep in her swing at home:

She is holding her snack jar in her hand, and she sucks her thumb when she goes to sleep.

How far do you think ahead?

I guess it all boils down to how organized you are, right?

I put away $20 a week in a pot for birthday's faithfully.  This year is proving a little hard on the pot as we have three big birthday's this year, so the poor pot is taking a beating.  I am working on September's birthday's now.  Got August all wound up and ready to go.

I also put $20 a week in a pot for Christmas.  I have made a start on Christmas shopping; have you?

Do you have a system when it comes to birthday's and holiday's?

It was a big weekend for Our Little Munchkin, as she went from her crib to her toddler bed:

 Her crib/cot goes from a crib to a toddler bed to a full sized bed.  She sucks her thumb when she is tired and is ready to sleep.

It went smoothly as she sleeps on a "camp-type" cot at daycare, so she is used to having no bars on the side etc.

Next big step in her life is potty training!!!

Made out like a bandit....

Dh was home on Friday, so we popped up to the mall in Barrie as Bath and Bodyworks has a good sale on at the moment.  Plus I got a $10 off coupon when I spent $30.  This is what I picked up:

I got 14 bottles of hand soap for under $28.  I am set for the rest of this year and probably part of next.  I have them out in two places, the powder room and the kitchen.  Very pleased with what I got.

We then went to HomeSense (HomeGoods in the States) and I picked up a few things, including a couple of birthday gifts and a couple of stocking stuffers.  However for ourselves I got this:

It's a set of four very small plates, big enough for a cupcake or muffin, or maybe a cookie or two.  At $9.99 for the set they are lovely; I may even go back and buy another set.

We also got a new set for our bathroom, but didn't realize until we got it home one piece is different!  I swear we are going senile the pair of us.

 Then as we are seeing Our Little Munchkin on Sunday I bought her some stickers.  She loves stickers and crafts in general.

Happy Canada Day and Yarn Along.

Today is Canada Day and it's Canada's 148th birthday.  You can read more about how Canada Day came about here.  As dh is contracted out to a factory and they can't shut down the big mills mid-week, so they are celebrating Canada Day on Friday; he gets a nice long weekend, which I think is better.

I have a couple of small finishes for my Yarn Along post this week.

I made another baby hat for Hannah (dh's co-worker's baby), this time a slightly bigger size; I love how it came out so pretty:

I also made a soft toy using this pattern:

Now please remember I only started knitting the middle of March of this year.  I have a long way to go before I can really say I am a knitter, but for my first attempt this wasn't bad.  I used 100% cotton yarn and this is the father size.  I need to practice my hand finishing as that leaves a lot to be desired.  

Angie at The Knitting Basket made a great suggestion at the Tuesday Knit and Stitch to knit my next one on smaller needles so it is a tighter weave, and that way you don't see the stuffing.  So instead of using US# 6, I will probably use US# 4 or 4.5.  

I printed out the pattern and you will need pages 1 through 20 for the body and pages 2 through 9 for the hat.  It is super simple to follow, I had no problems and it is a pretty quick and easy knit.  I am going to try it with some worsted yarn in a smaller size and in purple for Our Little Princess as that is her favourite colour.

The blue and yellow one I am going to give to Our Little Munchkin, as it reminds me of a Smurf and the blue food colouring "incident"!  Do you remember that?  If not you can read about it here.

I am not reading any books at the moment, just too busy with other things.

For more Yarn Along posts with Ginny please click on this link.

Quiet day on Wednesday for me.

Other than going to the mail box never left the house all day.  I did get some more trim painted, which is a good job, jobbed, as I say.  Got a load of laundry done, again another good job, jobbed.  Even got a bit more of the baby hat knit. I like those sort of days, when you get things done without any other distractions.

Back on the 16th dd and family came over as the boys, (ds and son-in-law) went golfing with a couple of their friends.  Meanwhile dd and our Little Munchkin stayed at home with me.  Our Little Munchkin went for her usual two hour sleep at lunch time, while her mummy made her a pair of shorts and I did some knitting.  Here she is eating her snack sitting by the kitchen window.  She loves looking out of it waving at everything and everyone going by.

 When Granddad came home from work we all went to McDonald's for an ice cream.  That bib lasted all of two minutes around her neck.  At least she sat still while she shared her mummy's ice cream.

Then while her mummy and Nana were busy looking around the store, Granddad pushed her around in the trolley, both as happy as Larry. Our Little Munchkin, loves her Granddad!!

Got "stuff" to do today, which means leaving the house.  I do enjoy those days when I can stay at home; are you a homebody?

Which one do you prefer?

I took this photo on the way home from knitting on Tuesday.  All are the same photo, which one do you prefer?

On a side note, Our Little Munchkin was sent home from daycare as she was covered in hives again.  Dd called doctors office and they said it could be leftover medication in her system.  Then the antibiotics are giving her the runs poor thing.  She can't catch a break at the moment.  Here is a photo of her taken last weekend:

I am annoyed with a lot of things and a lot of people at the moment.

The people I cannot discuss on such a public forum, but lets say I could honestly wring some people's necks.  However can't do that, but I can do this:

Both dh and Our Little Munchkin are sick again.  Our Little Munchkin has an ear infection (again) and possible a chest infection.  She is getting referred to a Pediatrician for further testing.  Then the poor thing came out in hives (red bumps) from a possible reaction to the antibiotic.

Dh could possibly have COPD, will need further testing and he has never smoked a day in his life.  Neither of what dh or Our Little Munchkin is life threatening but it is worrying all the same.

Anyhoo, this video has been doing the rounds and is really funny:


I think I also need to have this little girls attitude and all will be well:


Finally just because I like this song and it puts me in a better humour with myself!!

Have a good day!!

Our Little Munchkin's Quilt - Photo Heavy

I picked up my sewing machine on Wednesday, so was able to finish our Little Munchkin's quilt.   My "model" is sick {{SIGH}} so I had to be quick with photos, as he was having a hard time holding the quilt up!  This is the front, it's a twin/single size.

 Here is the back.

A close up of the back.  I did NOT do the quilting on the body of the quilt I got a professional to do it.  I can't quilt like this as I am no where near as talented as this lady.

 A closer look at the back.

 Another close up of the quilting.

The label I put on the quilt (see further down the post on this process).

So to recap the story of this quilt.  Our Little Munchkin had her photo taken every month for the first year of her life.  Each photo she was placed on a fabric background.

The grey neutral material was used in 5 month photo.  The Christmas fabric (top left) was used in the 1 month photo.  The hexagonal fabric was used in the newborn photo.  The lemon slice fabric was used in the 8 month photo, the yellow paisley one was used in the 9 month photo.

The ghost fabric (top left) was used in the 11 month photo.  The lilac (bottom left) was used in the 2 month photo.  The brown polka dot in the 12 month photo, and the green and brown one in the 4 month photo.

 The heart and ladybug fabric in the 3 month photo.  The pink floral in the 6 month photo.  The fishes in the 7 month photo and the letters in the 10 month photo.

We obviously have all the photos and need to get a big frame to put them in.    There is also a lot of fabric leftover, so dd said she was going to make some clothes for Our Little Munchkin.  We put her in sewing lessons when she was young (dd), so she knows her way around a sewing machine, but hasn't sewn in years.

I forgot to take photos of how to make the label, as it is a DIY project and very simple.  You need some freezer paper, material (I generally use muslin), a printer and a piece of paper.

What ever the normal size of a piece of paper is, I think 8.5" x 11", take that and use it as a template to cut out a piece of freezer paper that size.  One side of the freezer paper has some "glue" on it.   With that side facing the back side of your material, iron (no steam)  the freezer paper onto the material, it will stick to the fabric.  Trim the material so it is 8.5" by 11".  

Using your "word programme" type out the words you want to use on your quilt label on your desktop/computer.  Print it out on a piece of paper to make sure you are happy with the font and size.  My font size was 11 and I used I think Calabria maybe?  When you are happy with how it looks, feed the fabric with the freezer paper on it into the printer and print it out on your fabric.

Pull off the freezer paper.  With another blank piece of paper on top of the fabric, iron (no steam) over the lettering and hold it there for a few seconds.  I think I did 30 seconds just set the ink.  I then put a border around the grey label with leftover pink fabric and hand sewed it to the quilt.  I will do a step by step tutorial on this when I finish my next quilt.

By the way you can buy special sheets from your local fabric store that does practically the same thing and is supposed to be more colorfast.  I have never had any issues doing it my way, but that's just me.

To see some of the photos of Our Little Munchkin's monthly photos, you can click on this link.  I am so pleased how this turned out.  Now onto dd quilt.  I am quilting that myself as dd did not want to pay to have it quilted.  I paid for Our Little Munchkin's but refused to pay for dd.........they make more money than we do....LOL

There was a bit of plastic broken on my on/off switch on my sewing machine, so they glued it back together.  So how long will that last before it breaks again....any guesses?

Yarn Barf on Yarn Along

It's one of those terms I had never heard off until I started to knit.  This is what Yarn Barf looks like:

What's even funnier, Gillian was showing us on this post How to Wind a Skein of Yarn Yourself.  Guess I should have read that first before I started knitting.

I have read two books this week.  Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran, you can read my review here.

 Also The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, and you can read my review here.

I have been putting the binding on Our Little Munchkin's quilt this past week.  So very little knitting has been done.  I did go to The Knitting Basket to the sit and knit and got a little more done on my dish cloth:

However I have pulled it all out again, as I got lost in the pattern.  I find I can't concentrate on my knitting when talking.  I know don't talk, but it doesn't happen that way!  This dishcloth is proving to be a tricky thing to knit for some reason.........

So here we are now, just plain knitting:

I prefer the prior pattern and may give it a go again later when I spend more time concentrating.

For more Yarn Along with Ginny posts, please click on this link.