Hartwell the Cruise Director

We went on vacation last week. To Oregon! More specifically Cannon Beach, Oregon. I highly recommend the northern Oregon coast. It is nothing like where we live, save the hipsters, and there were so many things to do.

Here we are at Jetty Fishery, near Rockaway Beach. We stopped by a day before to ask questions and plan our crabbing adventure. Hartwell wanted to make a movie of his brother but couldn't get the camera to work. So I pushed the button and with no prep, this video is what happened.

I think he needs his own Travel Channel Show.

Happy 6th Birthday, Hartwell!!

My fella is 6! He asked for squinkies boys. And an iPhone.

We spent a day last week at Disneyland. Hartwell's friends joined us that afternoon so he could go on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, three times in a row!

We ate dinner at the Blue Bayou, his choice, and then went on the fast rides! Beckett is not a fan of rollercoasters, which was hard for Hartwell. While riding Big Thunder Mountain at night, Hartwell exclaimed, "Mom, look, it's so pretty!"

We went to the Mad Hatter to get hats. Hartwell wanted the goofy hat and Bee got a pirate hat. Their hat choices pretty much describe them perfectly.

He's just starting to take care of his brother and watch out for him. At dinner the other night, Beckett asked to use the rest room. Hartwell said, "I'll take him!"

After school today, Hartwell will pick where he wants to go. I have a feeling he's gonna say,"McDonald's!" But with my luck he's gonna was A Float Sushi.

Thanks, Meatcat!

 

You know how sometimes you're going along thinking you're doing a great job at that mom thing and then you're late to something and you lose the directions to the school project?  I hope not. It does not feel very good.

First, I was late to the Halloween parade which meant Hartwell was the only one in the whole class without his costume. If you know me at all you know I am never late, ever, this was a miscommunication in scheduling. They send home about 8 pieces of paper with the exact same info and maybe one of them tells you something new. And that's the page I didn't read.

Then, I realize Hartwell's Dias de los Muertos diorama box is due in two days. And I didn't have the coloring pages that Hartwell is supposed to color and cut out. I put them in his homework folder for safe keeping and they were removed when he turned the folder in! Not wanting to pull a second FAIL! in a row, we went to Michael's in search of leftover Halloween stuff to make our box.  Did you know Michael's no longer carries any crafting supplies? It's like a room full of floral centerpieces and Christmas villages. The superstore and its "stock what sells" mentality is driving us all back to the local, independent craft stores. Just like I planned! Ah-hahahahahahaha!

So, after buying a whole lot of NOTHING at Michael's, we went to the 99 Cents Only store. Don't be fooled, it's actually the .9999999 cent store, which is a dollar! I am not stupid! But they, at least, had some skulls and skeletons. 

Down the street form the Just Call it a Dollar Store is an awesome fabric shoppe that I knew would have dias de los muertos fabric. Hartwell picked out two fabrics and we drove home all pumped full of righteous indignation and shouting anti-corporate sentiments! "Why you such a bitch, Michael's!" exclaimed Beckett*.

Back to dead day box, Hartwell and I tried to think of someone to make the altarpiece for. First, he suggested "Maggie and Audrey's grandpa." Which I thought was adorable, and a little creepy, but mostly adorable. We don't have a ton of relatives who have passed away/our extended family lives far away.  So he doesn't know anybody who has died. I suggested my Grandma Lylia. Bee was really upset to hear my grandma had died. 

Grandma Lylia was my vintage/antique/fabric/embroidery shopping companion. Most of what I know about that stuff came from her. For the "picture" above the altar, it was explained we could do something that represented the person. So Hartwell learned to embroider and made an "L" for Lylia.

It turned out pretty cute, for a dead person memorial. It was much harder than it looks as everything I bought had to be spray painted or somehow fixed.

After I finished the project, which was a couple of hours with red paint and spray glue covered fingers, I got an email that explained that the Dias de los Muertos boxes will be due on Friday. As in I now had three more days to finish the project.

Blergh. I need a Cheesy Blaster.

*not really.

Happy Valentine Birthday, Hartwell!

H is for Heart

Hartwell's birthday is Valentine's Day. And this year, he asked that his party's theme be "hearts. Because I'm Hartwell and my birthday is Valentine's Day." Fair enough. I have about two years left of that.
His preschool class has a Valentine's party and they hand out valentine's. I thought Hartwell would like these little felt hearts for his friends. The ones who have morning drink with him, (drinking out of the bathroom sinks), and the ones who play bikes with him and even the ones who taught him to open bags of chips by pounding the air out of them.

 

For the note, I used a sort of french knot. I need to improve my H's. Their simplicity is misleading.

The set up

 John: I always wished I had a brother.
Hartwell: You could ask for one for Christmas.
John: Good idea...
Hartwell (whispering to me): He's cuckoo!

Hartwell's Book

I put some pictures in clear plastic sleeves and placed them in a three ring binder the other day. Hartwell saw the resulting "book" and exclaimed, "Mama made a book! I want to make a book!"

So, I got some paper and crayons and he proceeded to dictate a book to me. I wish I had recorded the session. There was so much more good stuff that I couldn't fit in. And I had to ask questions to get him to form things into complete sentences. "How did the heart fall in the pool?" And so on...

The resulting book is amazing! And an interesting look inside the mind of my sweet little guy.

Ssib-Ssib has magnet hands? Awesome!

Funny Little Bunnies

Yesterday, we went on an outing to a petting zoo type place called Danny's Farm. They had mini ponies and chickens, a pig named Miss Piggy and baby bunnies! Beckett jumped right in a picked up a baby bunny and was surprisingly un-Lennie about it. Meanwhile, Hartwell, my sweetheart/loverboy, stood at the edge of the fence and cried because he was scared. Which, is a fair response. I'm not a huge fan of holding a myriad of animals. But I picked up a baby chick to prove that it's not scary. And I petted a horse and rooster to try to help him get over his fear. And I realized that it's not my favorite thing to do so why should I force him to like it?

This morning Hartwell told me, "I only like dogs."

And, based on how he treats Barkley, not very much.

Right back on.

My little Hartwell twisted his ankle this weekend. We went to his school's Apple Blossom Festival featuring pony rides! and a bounce house! While being helped off the pony, the lady misunderestimated his weight and kind of dropped him on his ankle. He didn't cry, but was a limp-ie crank. He wanted to go into the bounce house but once inside sat and cried about how no one should be bouncing.

When we got home we decided to take him to the urgent care to make sure it wasn't broken. And get it wrapped and stuff. Plus, I was sick of carrying the big lug. He weighs 60 pounds!

Because of his size, the doctors and nurses kept saying things like, "Bring him some books to read or homework," and "what grade are you in, buddy?" Whenever I said, "He's only 4, " I was met with, "I know." You know? Really?

He's feeling a lot better. Until someone stops by to see if he's okay. Then he starts to milk the attention like crazy. And Bee joins right in.

Kids Quilt

 

I'm almost done with the rag quilt for Hartwell's School's Silent Auction. I think it is sold rather than auctioned, but I'm not exactly sure.

I went to school yesterday with some muslin blocks and fabric markers for the kids to color. Miss Shelley had them draw a garden or bugs. It was really cute. Some kids said they couldn't draw, and Miss Shelley said, "You can draw a circle!" And I loved watching them draw bugs. The legs! The eyes! One little guy was absent, so I left the supplies so he wouldn't be left out. 

Hartwell just kind of scribbled and said, "I'm done." Which I think was due to his mom sitting right there. Little Bee had a super fun preschool day which made me want to sell my body so he could attend next year. (He has a late birthday and will still get 2 years of preschool, just not next year).

I just have to sew on one missing garden piece and then snip the edges and wash. Then it should look something like this. Please let it look like that.

Love. Exciting and new...

I never got to show you the super cute drawing my mother-in-law did for Hartwell's Valentine Party. They were pdf's and I probably could have finagled something, but then this arrived in the mail. She sent the boys a valentine!

I wish you could see my face when I open things like this. It's so amazing to see a drawing of your kids made by someone who really loves them.

And it's so accurate! Hartwell is so loving. And Bee's hiding brass knuckles in his pocket.

It's an Internet Valentine's Day, Hartwell Pollard!

 

Hartwell's birthday is Valentine's Day. And this is his first birthday in school...okay, preschool. And since he's still little and still likes hearts, I tried to make it special for him. 

It turned out very internet-ie. I think I went to a different place for everything! 

First, we went to Cottage-Industrialist and picked out a Valentine for his friends. The alligator, of course!

Then I went to Blonde-Designs for the little sticker to hold the lollipop in the card. Hartwell did the "H," I did the "artwell."

Next I visited the long thread and saw their cute idea for recycled crayon hearts.

 

  

Cute, right? I just love them! 

Then, Bee fell asleep.

  

While he slept, I made some bags for Hartwell's teachers. I never did anything for Christmas, so I thought, "Now's my time!" I used a tutorial from Indie House, which I love and have used before. I added the bit of ribbon. They need a little something to hold on to when you zip and unzip. The pouches are filled with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses with a note that reads, "Hugs and Kisses, Love, Hartwell."

As if that weren't enough, I also made a little matchbook inspired notepad to go with the crayon. The paper is 4" x 5" and the matchbook paper is 4-1/4" x 11". Fold and staple. Then I used butyl to attach the crayon to the paper.

  

Since the little gift is a crayon and paper, we're planning on coloring! My mother-in-law, an excellent and speedy artist, drew some coloring pages for me and scanned them on over! I was going to show one to you, it's so cute, she drew Hartwell, but it's a pdf. Pretend it's here:

The last thing I made, was timed to be last. I didn't want any sticky fingers getting into them. Didn't stop Bee. He had that giant nap! I found these rice krispie hearts at Skip to My Lou. I didn't add the chocolate to them, but I did add sprinkles. Hartwell was very excited. He said, "Hey, that rhymes with me!" Heart does rhyme with Hartwell. Smart kid.

So, now, I'm almost positive I'm gonna have dreams about waking up late and missing the party. I'm hoping if I mention it to you now, it won't happen. I'm also hoping for a new, amazing handbag. If it's going to happen, maybe that purse will come with it.

Would you knock it off please? Thank you.

I am the meanest mom ever. I try to capture crying kids as much as smiling kids. Not that I am the cause of the tears, he fell down while trying to be the leader. It's just that I bet he would've preferred kind words and a kiss to faux shutter clicks. Sorry, buddy.

He's got legs. He knows how to use them.

As I've mentioned before, John likes to say to me, when a joke falls flat or a dish doesn't come together as I had hoped, "They can't all be winners." Yet another of my Keurig fueled projects didn't magically turn out bathed in the perfection I had envisioned. I made this little love chicken as a test to see if they were simple enough to make as a Valentine project for Hartwell's preschool class.

I followed the instructions as well as I could, Hartwell was watching a Thomas video on the computer and I had to either interrupt it to get the next step or leave him alone and sew in peace. I sewed in peace. When I turned love chicken right side out for my "voila" moment, his legs were missing! I sewed his legs inside the love pocket. Usually I'm a really good instruction/directions memorizer, with my little acting background, and yet my motherhood scatterbrain is starting to win the battle.

After showing my friends my fail, I decided to fix him. If only because it's one less love chicken to make for the class. And I'm lazy.

Pattern and Instructions at Molly Chicken.

Chef Hartwell

Hartwell got this kick ass chef hat and apron from his aunt for Christmas. Last night he helped me make box mac and cheese. He likes to "read" the "steps." Bee decided to join us and I rushed to find him an apron. (I had one lying around that I bought at a thrift store to copy). Bee asked for a hat. I felt a little bad for him and then Hartwell said, "You can sew him one. In your mama room*."


*mama room: colloquial term for my sewing room, coined to keep the kids out.

Hamburgler?

Hartwell just walked into my bedroom wearing this:

It's like my very own Lady GaGa.

Was a heart of felt...

Hartwell gets a heart ornament. In green. Because as of Thursday, at 9:32 am, that's his favorite color.