Showing posts with label daily life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily life. Show all posts

Saturday, November 17, 2012

I remember you


Do you ever view the past version of yourself as a separate entity? Childhood Amanda. This past version of yourself that you view fondly like a little sister, wondering what small efforts you can make to appease her. What goals did she have, and have I achieved them for her? I wish that she had made a list of goals, so that I could go through it with my adult pen, checking off these little girl dreams just to be sure I’ve made Childhood Amanda happy. Not necessarily for a sense of accomplishment, but simply as a nod to the past. Yes, I remember you and what you wanted and even if our life has taken a different path than originally thought, I will do this small token for you. I wonder if this is what some people mean when they talk about your ‘inner child’. When this aspect of yourself takes control and you do something pointless yet satisfying. Or perhaps we do not lose control but rather we put ourselves out there as a sacrifice to who we once were.   An adult who in remembrance of their youth, does something spontaneous just to wink at the past. This is why I paint. Even though I know I am not good at it, I know Childhood Amanda wanted to be a painter. This is why my nose is pierced and I have a tattoo-spontaneity at its prime. That little girl wanted to be a writer too, so here I am.
          Do you have these moments? In an attempt to honor a childhood dream, you take that silly risk. Just for her.

xo
Amanda


Friday, November 9, 2012

a day in the life of..

.Morning in the field.

.the leaves have changed.

 .a beautiful golden sight.

.apple and blackberry pie.

.such sweetness.

.giving monkey a kiss.

."...and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me" - excerpt from Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

xo
Amanda

Thursday, October 25, 2012

a day in the life of..

Evelyn used a hair clip to keep a little crocheted blanket on around her shoulders, because she wanted to wear a shawl like mommy- ah! This babydoll blanket was actually crocheted by my mom for me when I was little.

This was right after Flora said, "I'm a bird" and right before she jumped off the bench and 'flew'

It is late October and my roses are still blooming

We brought the outside in, and tucked leaves under paper to do some relief coloring.

Evelyn loved it! Flora didn't really grasp it yet, but she added her own marking to Evelyn's picture...can you guess which leaf Flora colored? here's a hint. Its purple.
xo
Amanda

Friday, September 28, 2012

a day in the life of...

.a breakfast picnic.

.barefoot fun and making wishes.

.knit knit knit.

.shhh...Flora's sleeping.


.singing and dancing to my favorite song, "MOMmy is sooOO bootyFUL!".

.singing her favorite song, "once upon a dreammm"
i'm living the life.

 xo
Amanda



Saturday, September 22, 2012

a day in the life of...

Morning coffee and knitting

I painted Cobalt's silhouette last night and hung it up this morning in the bathroom...nothing like a dog over a toilet.

Evelyn working on her loom. She's weaving a present for her great grandma :)

"All Done!" The girls got a lollipop for cleaning their playroom

naptime reading for my history course

Helping to hang up their laundry

cheap Pillsbury cookies are delicious.

It was a productive,yet chill Friday with the girls. The day ended on a high note as the whole family went out for a triple date with friends at our favorite restaurant, Leticia's. Yummy Mexican food, loud laughs and margaritas were had. It was a good day indeed.

xo
Amanda

Thursday, September 20, 2012

a day for butterflies

The weather was a little cooler this morning (only 90degrees) and there was a slight breeze in the air. So I took the girls to the field in our neighborhood for some butterfly catching and bird watching. There wasn't any hummingbirds today like usual but there were tons of little butterflies, all floating an inch above the grass. The girls had a blast running through the field, as the butterflies scattered up around their feet and flew away.




Eventually we had to walk home, once the need to go potty became stronger than the need to catch butterflies. After a snack of white grape juice and apples, we got to coloring. I brought out an Eric Carle book, to show the girls an artist's depiction of a butterfly, and they got to work coloring their own 'artistic' depiction.


It was a fun morning indeed. Now the girls are napping, and when they wake up I plan on making them a yummy pasta with some garden fresh tomatoes my dear friend gave me. Oh, and some salsa! She also gave me lots of peppers. Hooray for good friends and butterflies.

xo
Amanda

Monday, January 23, 2012

Shenanigans

Happy Monday! Today is usually my DIY day, but I am actually sharing this week's DIY on the Oana Befort blog! So be sure to shimmy on over to check out my guest post- where I share how to create your own 'modern art' print out of paint swatches. 

So instead, I will be sharing my 'Shenanigans' post- stories of all the craziness this family has taken part in this past week....

 the girls bathing, which has nothing to do with the story.
but Flora's face makes me laugh.
 Our refrigerator broke. kind of. Late afternoon I opened the freezer and a waterfall splashed down on my feet- leaving my slippers soaked and my mouth agape, staring at the melted ice and warm food I'd been preserving. Checking the thermostat, our freezer was 36 degrees and our fridge turned out to 50. Oooooh boy. So in attempt to save the food in our fridge, I transferred everything over into the freezer- which was actually the perfect 'fridge' temperature. So there I am moving warm yogurt and milk into the freezer, Flora and Evelyn are dancing in the puddle that has swelled around my feet, and the dogs are fighting to lap up the water. It was quite a scene. Well everything did not fit in the freezer...so now the girls are at the table with plates full of food. Fruit,veggies,cheeses, tall glasses of milk... the girls are in heaven,dancing in their chairs humming, while they eat portion sizes that I'm not proud of. During all this I still didn't think to actually remove the melting ice from the freezer, so water is still pooling in the kitchen. About an hour later, the girls are full, the freezer is full, and I've finally dumped the last of the ice. Mission completed.
Not really. The next morning I come downstairs and open the freezer to get breakfast ready. And it is empty. and it is freezing in there with fresh ice. I open the fridge, and all the food is back in the fridge. and the temperatures are back to normal. This can only be the work of the elusive husband who sleeps during the day and works at night. My moment of "oh yeah! its fix!" triumph ended abruptly when  i realized that everything in the fridge is FROZEN. The milk,yogurt,radishes,carrots... everything is frozen solid or has terrible freezer burn. Ruined. After a chat with the hubby, it turns out the fridge just kind of...went back to normal, and when Casey was about to leave for work, he moved everything back in the fridge once he saw the freezer temp was at 0. Sooo.... THAT was a fiasco which ended in an all too soon trip to the grocery store. and has me looking up reviews for a new fridge.

xo
Amanda

Sunday, January 15, 2012

old name// new series

As y'all can see the blog has had a little (big?) makeover. I threw away the Urchin Knits name and went back to the original Folklure name. So if you've been reading my blog for awhile, this name is nothing new- but if you are a new reader (thanks for stopping by :) it might be a little confusing. Basically I'm as flaky as a croissant and decided that I actually don't like the name Urchin Knits and I actually liked Folklure....plus, I plan on reopening my Folklure etsy shop in the near future :)

Well, moving on past the obligatory explanation... I am very excited for a new 'series' on the blog. 1 day a week i'll be sharing the funny,random stuff my little girls do. Seriously, these girls crack me up on a daily basis but my memory is soooo bad I totally forget these memories in a week -_- so this is my attempt to help preserve the shenanigans of their youth, and hopefully spread some laughs!

no better time to start than the present so here we go...

This past week Flora has been the star of her own show, a circus show probably, as she has been very daring and acrobatic. I would walk out of the bathroom and bam- there she is standing on the morning room table with my ceramic mug in her hand. I walk downstairs from hanging up laundry and there she is again, standing on the large dining room table doing little baby squats to whatever song is playing in her head.I'm telling you, in less than a second this girl will find the highest ledge possible and mountain goat her way up it.

speaking of goat, here is a little story that has nothing to do with a goat. We went to Hash House A Go Go yesterday for breakfast *SO GOOD!* and Flora brought a little plastic horse friend to share the experience with. and my water with. She kept dunking the horse into my glass like it was some kind of tea biscuit and sucking its head dry. So i'm very proud to say that not only can she lead a horse to water, but she can make it drink as well ;) oh wait, i have another one- she was so hungry she could eat a horse! (slap knee now)


Now, one last tidbit that isn't funny, but oh so sweet! Evelyn said, "I love you Mommy" for the first time yesterday!!! For some reason for the past three years she has hasn't felt the urge to say I love you, but I guess sharing my bowl of macaroni with her sparked something inside. After many hugs and kisses, she kept laying on the butter following her "i love you mommy"s with "you're pretty mommy" awwwwww! and she's all mine to cuddle and hold.

xo
Amanda

Friday, January 13, 2012

Evelyn's Birthday

What a day! Our sweet Evelyn turned 3 yesterday and I did all I could to ensure a fun filled day for her :) I set-up her presents in the front room the night before, so the first thing she saw as she started tip toeing down the stairs was a pile of goodies! Popping on her birthday crown (which I made out of a toilet paper roll,haha) she went to town unwrapping...




 It was a very fun indeed, followed by blueberry pancakes that Daddy made especially for our blueberry lovin' baby, er, big girl ;) After presents and breakfast, we met up with Evelyn's friend Betty at a nearby park and they had a BLAST zooming around the jungle gym area,sliding and of course swinging. Betty has been celebrating Evelyn's birthday with her since they were both 1, so its very special to see them still playing,growing up together. Next came naptime (to my relief) and on continued the festivities...





Evelyn woke up to balloons,flowers, and a cake needing to be baked! She helped me mix everything together , and once baked, she helped me stick kiwis all around it. The cake turned out to be DELICIOUS! afterwards the girlies vegged out on the couch,watching Little Nemo as I whipped up a broccoli cheddar bake for dinner.

It was such a fun day,filled with all kinds of things Evelyn loves. I just feel so proud and happy to be this little girl's mommy. She's the sweetest,most empathetic child I've ever met and it amazes me to see her blossom into such a caring individual. 

i'm gonna go give her a big 'ole kiss

xo
Amanda

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Today i'm inspired by...Cobalt

There is a new addition to the Thornton household! We have recently adopted a Labrador/Australian Shepherd puppy from a local shelter, and it's a boy! We've named him Cobalt and he is 10 lbs of cuteness and destruction! Chewing on everything,peeing everywhere, running around like crazy.... this past week has been a blast.
*sarcasm* 
Yet, aside from the expected destruction of puppies, he is GREAT with the girls,loves to cuddle and actually has a fondness for carrots and turns his nose to bacon...interesting little vegetarian dog. He is suppose to be my husband's dog, as Pip is mine, but there is an unspoken truth that Cobalt might actually love his mama more- gasp!


The adjustment with Pip has been the biggest obstacle, as Pip has turned out to be quite the jerk with other dogs -_- its been a week since we've adopted Cobalt, and they have become sooo much better with eachother, but its still a daily stress of mine. Aside from the stress of a new puppy, there are the perks! The cozy,cuddle moments, watching Evelyn giggle as she plays with him, the smile on Casey's face as Cobalt comes bounding to him when he gets home from work, and my favorite: chuckling at the way he still suckles in his sleep. I'm telling you, if this dog had a thumb- he'd suck it in his sleep. And my second favorite puppy perk is puppy shopping! These days, shopping for a puppy has become as fun as shopping for a baby with all the selection out there. I thought i'd share a few finds with y'all here...


All these goodies make me wish there was such a thing as a 'puppy shower'
is that weird?



xo
Amanda

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Birthday Girl

December 31 was my birthday, and yes, I am just now writing about it...10 days later. I won't get into how hectic this past week has been, instead i'll just chat about my fun little day. So start things off right, I baked cranberries muffins with the girls- and I have to say they were quite delicious! I opened a couple presents from relatives with the girls; This book pictured below (which I am totally stoked about!) and a knitting needle case. 
My girlfriend Elisha took me out for lunch and it was so nice to have some girl time on my birthday,just talking and laughing, not having to worry about kiddos or wild puppies. She even got us cupcakes :) When I got home, the hubby had decorated our little breakfast nook with a banner,streamers and had my presents laid out on the table. It was a very cute sight, as the last time I had a 'decorated' birthday was when I was pregnant with Evelyn,haha. The family got me a Keurig, a pocket knife and an Office themed card. The Keurig makes the most yummy coffee and I was very happy for my knife since the last one Casey gifted me, got confiscated at the airport...oops. Now, not only was it my birthday but it also happened to be our 4 year anniversary (I know, I should have known better than to get married on my birthday, which also happens to be New Years Eve- just way too much at once! ) So I got Case a video game for our anniversary and we went out for sushi together, which was very very delicious! By the time we got home it was close to 9, and to us, that is partying hard. So we decided to postpone the cake baking/eating for the next morning.

Which turned out to be a great idea, because what is better than a yummy cup of coffee and chocolate cake in the morning? This,like the decorating, was also very special as I haven't had a cake for my birthday for the past 4 years. 

Now that I'm one year older and the year has turned again, it is time for New Year resolutions. There are a few things that automatically come to mind- but I think this year I will honestly reflect on this past year and myself, to come up with a genuine resolution...something beyond 'lose 5 pounds.' I'll share my reflections in a future post :)

How was your New Years? And i'd love to hear what your New Year resolution is!

xo
Amanda