Category Archives: Pet Posse

Jan1

New Year Resolution Review

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New Year Resolution Review
New Year Resolution Review

I was just thinking about my big New Year’s Resolution for 2013. I wanted to learn a new hobby- particularly focusing on crocheting/knitting. While I haven’t quite gotten excited about knitting, I feel pretty good about nailing the crochet part of my resolution.

Here is a year in review with some of my favorite projects.

corchetcollage2I did a lot of crocheted flower/bow-tie collars for rescue, along with birds that could be sold to raise money for IGCA rescue, too. (And I made several birds as gifts for friends, too!)

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I have made several cute booties and accessories for friends and others, but these are my favorite. Evelyn’s owl hat was a blast to make. I still adore her pink boots That she wore for a while back in February, along with her “Converse sneakers“. (Now that I think of it… those “barefoot sandals” from the same post as the sneakers were pretty sweet, too!) The fingerless gloves in the middle were a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law, and it’s hard to tell from the picture, but there’s strands of glittery silver mixed in with the yarn, which is a super soft blend of merino wool and silk lace weight yarn. They were so soft and beautiful!

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And of course, all the stuffed animals/ amigurumi items I made were both a major pain and so fun to try out. While I thought that Link and Yoshi were going to kill me to assemble, the end results were absolutely worth it! (You are welcome, Jacob and Stephen. Like my college-aged brothers have time to read my blog, though! 😉 ) Evelyn’s birds, bear, and birthday owl were easy enough, but great softies for her. And the patterns from Creepy Cute Crochet (Ninjas, Amazon Warrior Princess, and Grim Reaper) were all great learning experiences, as well as fun gifts and decorations.

As far as meeting a New Year’s Resolution, I think this year I hit it out of the ball park! It’s so neat to look back on the past year and see what I’ve accomplished when this time last year, I couldn’t even do a single crochet stitch. 🙂

Nov14

Thankful Thursdays II

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Thankful Thursdays II

What a week! Many of my things I am grateful for are things that suddenly have been in short supply. Nothing like a good dose of change and challenge to remind you to appreciate when things are good.

1) I am grateful for the days that I get a good night’s sleep. I’ve always had a hard time sleeping, but having a child of my own has really brought “sleep deprivation” to a whole new level. Especially when teething, or growing pains, throws a wrench into the nighttime workings of toddler sleep!

2) I am grateful for warm weather. We’ve hit uncharacteristically cold weather for our locale this week, and it reminds me of several  reasons why I prefer the really hot summers here over the very cold (and snowy…yuck!) winters of my childhood.

3) I am so grateful for our beautiful home. Even with all the maintenance (some of which has been taking FOREVER lately!) and random “Oh no!” moments  of home ownership, it is so neat to have our own home to make memories in with our family.

4) I am grateful for Pinterest! How many amazing, cute ideas have I come across on that site (many of which I will never get to replicating), and how many amazing, quick and easy recipes have I come across to spice up our dinner rotations? And I know there’s always that feeling that sometimes some of these people who do these projects are crazy overachievers, it gives me something to aspire to on the crazier days of being a mom.

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5) I am grateful for crock pots. Seriously, whoever made the crock pot, I love you. Not only does my crock pot help me made chicken and pot roasts so tender they just fall apart to the touch,  it makes it possible for me to make dinner while Evelyn is having some down time, usually mornings. Unlike the days where 4:00PM hits and her separation anxiety is so bad that she must be held constantly or else break down into hysteria. And then I end up calling Jared to pick something from Chick-Fil-A because I get anxiety just thinking about trying to contain her wiggles while trying to cut veggies or cook on the stove!

6) I really enjoy the chickens. In the cooler weather, they haven’t been laying as frequently. (Frankly, that is a relief for me- I have been having a rough time trying to keep up with 3-4 eggs a day! 1-2 are much more manageable!) But they have been a lot more fun than I had anticipated them being, and Evelyn thinks that they are hilarious to watch. She’ll run to the back door and sign bird, squealing “Bir-Bir-Biiiiir!” and I know she’s hoping to catch a glimpse of the chicklets. And it’s kind of fun to be a little more “self sustaining” with having them, too. Maybe we need to get a nanny goat next, Jared?  😉 JUST KIDDING. Mostly.

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7) I LOVE Evelyn snuggles. This girl isn’t the most snuggle-bunny of them, and so the moments that I can get her to sit still next to me and cuddle for a few minutes on the couch are PRICELESS. And when it is snuggling with Mom, Dad, Evelyn, and three doggies on the couch? Nothing beats snuggling with the loves of your life!

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Nov7

Thankful Thursdays

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Thankful Thursdays

October was another busy month for us, and so I am sorry for those of you who occasionally check up on this blog here! Evelyn seems to be getting back into a nap groove after a busy month (granted, only one nap a day now… boo!), but it’s something. It seems like every month brings new and bigger changes into our lives, but hey, that’s what we are here for, right?

Anyways, I wanted to do something to recognize an often understated holiday this month, Thanksgiving. But I find daily “Something to be grateful for” posts to be a bit tedious, and with a VERY active 16 month old, a post a day is just way too much for me to keep up with. But I know it IS important to show gratitude, especially when I have so, so much to be grateful for right now!

So, here are seven things I am grateful for from the last week. I think the hardest part is to limit what I want to say to 7!

1. I am grateful for silly holidays that allow me to show off my adorable daughter. Evie LOVED Halloween. She even got to go trick or treating with her bestie, “Q.”, and together they were adorable. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t hold still long enough to get a picture together, so you get to see this pic with Momma, instead.

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2. I am grateful for drastically changing my occupation to stay home with my sweet, beautiful girl. This is the hardest job I’ve ever taken on, but I can’t imagine how unhappy I would be if I had to leave her for the long hours I had teaching. There has been some sacrifices to make it happen, but I know that I am so lucky to have this opportunity with her.

3. I am grateful for my hard working, sexy, adorable, funny, and intelligent husband. While on paper we might not have a lot in common, we just click! And he is such a good dad to Evelyn; he can make her squeal and giggle better than anybody else.

4. I am grateful to be able to foster for IGCA Rescue. Minka Moose is quirky, but so adorable. I’m surprised nobody’s snatched her up yet because she can be so sweet and charming. But part of me is glad they haven’t, because I was able to dress her like this for Halloween.

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5. I am so grateful Evelyn has a love for animals. She loves her doggies and chickens. She sees a bird in the sky and will sign it (she’s finally using some ASL) and excitedly repeat “Bir-Bir-Bir!” Two weekends ago, we were invited to go to one of Jared’s coworkers homes that lives in a more rural area. He had week-old baby goats, day-old chicks, and bunnies. Evelyn was THRILLED. And then again, the next day, when there happened to be a 5 month old Eurasian Owl posing for pictures, Evelyn was in animal lover heaven! Her innocent love for every living thing is so amazing to witness.

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6. I am grateful for chocolate. This goes with the whole “being a mom can be a hard job”. Some days I wouldn’t make it without chocolate’s sweet, succulent goodness. Thank heavens for chocolate for those bad days. And to celebrate some of those good days, too!

7. I am grateful for eternal families. Jared is my best friend, and being married to him and becoming Evelyn’s mother has taught me so much about true love. And we have wonderful extended family that life wouldn’t be the same without!JaredandEvie

How could I live without these two?

Oct23

Tweezer

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Tweezer

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Tweezer the Sun Conure

2002- October 23, 2013

Fly high, crazy bird. You will be missed. I’m glad we ended our last few visits on a positive note.

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Sep25

Crocheted cuties for IGCA Rescue

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Crocheted cuties for IGCA Rescue
Crocheted cuties for IGCA Rescue

Okay, I know I haven’t revealed if I am crocheting the giraffe or the elephant yet, BUT I HAVE A GOOD REASON! Really!

A few weeks ago, the IGCA Rescue rep mentioned a big craft fair that was allowing her to set up a booth to sell crafts to raise money for the rescue group. Like with our sweet little girl, Selena (who was officially adopted last week, by the way. YAY!), the $300 adoption fee hardly covers all the fees rescue paid for her medical expenses. Many times, people bring their injured or sick dogs to the rescue group or to a shelter because they can’t, or don’t want to, pay the medical costs. A iggy leg break can easily cost $1000 to be corrected, and because young iggies think they can fly, this is sadly a common occurrence.

Anyways, I digress. The point is, they needed crafts. And in this past year, I have learned a fairly useful craft! So I offered up my crochet skills.

So, I have spent the past few weeks free time on this:

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And this:

 

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I did a slew of flower “collars” and bow ties. These are just the few I got pictures of. Obviously, the collars are for fun, not walking collars or anything, but they are quick and easy to make up. I just adjusted sizes and whatnot so people with bigger dogs could wear them as well as pint-sized Minka dogs. 🙂

Hopefully they will sell well this weekend and help the rescue out. Soon, I will be back to the You Decide project for you all to see.