5 and 8

yesterday we celebrated Yagel’s fifth birthday! I can’t believe I have been a mom for 5 years! insane! Here is the birthday boy at his birthday lunch with his imma and safta. That’s his safta!

 

 

 

 

 

We had pancakes (some of us had salad) and a sparkler on top! It was fun! He told everyone in earshot that he was 5… so cute! and don’t you just adore his crown! I made it! I used this tutorial and it turned out great! I initially made him a green one, but his sweet little monkey of a sister stole it…we actually started celebrating his birthday last week, when we all met at the Gymboree for playing and pizza and cake…its a dinosaur. stegosaurus, actually… hard to tell, i know…and these incredible cupcake were made by my friend Sidra, owner of Cupcake Caterers. Aren’t they insane!?!

her shirt says “sweety”. her imma made it 🙂

the kids had a great time… we are actually celebrating today as well… its like an Indian wedding. so much fun though…

I’m sure you are wondering what the 8 in the title is for. Or not. You may not care. Well, I’ll tell you anyway! I was nominated for a stylish blogger award!Thank you, Yafa! for nominating me! And now, I need to tell you 8 things you probably don’t know about me…

1. I am a single mom, have 2 kids, one 5 (duh) and one 35, ok, she’s actually 2 and 9  months, but don’t tell her

2. I live in Jerusalem. Have for the past 2.5 years, after living in the center of Israel for 9 years, for a grand total of 11.5 years in Israel.

3. I was a pre-school teacher in the States and really miss the little ones…

4.  I have a very hard time keeping my work area neat and clean. I am horrible at folding and putting away, to the point that my kids sit on the pile of fabric when they come in…

5. I really miss shopping in America. Big bookstores, Target, Old Navy, Starbucks…

6. I am addicted to fabric. I walk into a clothing store and envision how I would use the fabric for something else…

7. My blog reader has over  250 blogs in it. Yes, I follow them all… but the reader does all the hard work for me…

8. Ever since my kids were born, and during their pregnancies, I am never cold. I am finding, however, that my hands are cold… but not the rest of me… hooray for baby fat!

and now, I need to choose 8 blogs to nominate for the awards…

1. Creative Jewish Mom

2. Patch Andi

3. Chez Beeper Bebe

4. Drink it all, sometimes the poison’s on the bottom

5. From an igloo

6. Launder Fold Repeat

7. Living with Punks

8. Lollychops

I am leaving the discovering up to you! Enjoy finding some new bloggy goodness!!! I’m glad I did!!!

Have a great day! MWAH!!!!!

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hello!!!

Its been a while. I know… that seems to be my standard opening line… life just keeps getting inthe way of recording it… does that make sense?

I have just completed a month of craft fairs. one a week. I am bushed. so tired… I need a break from the real world. Time to concentrate on thevirtual world for a while…working on my etsy shop (not up yet), am featured over at fireflies and jellybeans, and working on a give-away for them!! soon!!!

I have made a bunch of onesies that will be listed in the shop real soon, but here they are!!!for those of you who don’t read Hebrew, they say price, princess, angel and tfu tfu tfu… the image is on the front and the words on the back. They are available in sizes 3,6,9,12, 18 and 24 months. Since they are custom ordered, they will take about a week to be shipped out. Aren’t they darling? I love them. wish I had someone small to put them on…. they were all done with freezer paper stenciling. very time consuming… I really wanna learn how to silk screen. Looks like so much fun!!!

Last weekend, I took my kids to a beautiful park near Netanya called Utopia. Its on a kibbutz, and its basically a tropical rain-forest, with orchids and other plants, as well as exotic chickens, a maze, a butterfly enclosure, ducks, koi fish and turtles. The kids had a great time. too bad the butterflies were already hibernating, even though it was 30 degrees Celsius there…

Yagel and I also discovered the joy of Mod Podge one day. We made a tissue paper and Mod Podge Chanukia for Chanuka. So much fun! I can’t decide who enjoyed it more… it may have been me! I had so much fun, we even decoupaged the coffee jar!

Alright! Off to finish cleaning up and sorting through the toys before the kids get home from their dad’s.

Have a lovely weekend!

MWAH!!!

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oof…

i find myself starting too many posts with “sorry I havent posted in a while” and it annoys me. but yes, I am sorry…. Its been crazy around here, and not necessarily a good crazy….

I have promised a bit more than I can chew in the sewing world, have been offered a job (the real kind, not the “run your own business while you raise your children kind… dont stone me, this IS a real job…) and I have been busy with the kids….

So first… I joined an I spy fabric swap!!! I am super excited, and have already had comments on a previous posts with people hoping that these will be included in my set… so YES, yes they will!!!! so far I have finished cutting 20 airplane squares, 20 fish squares, 20 dumptruck etc squares and 20 nations dolls squares… yes’ I am behind, but Friday my kids are going to their grandparents and I will have the house to myself  so I can cut away….

excuse the mess 🙂

I was also part of a winter swap, and I made a very sweet bunny-bear… was meant to be a bear, but the ears came out sideways, hence, the bunny-bear…

🙂

She is made of an old sweater with Moda MOMO wonderland fabric for the body and ears… and vintage buttons from my MIL.

I was also part of a personal swap. My friend Robin knitted me a pair of fingerless gloves and I made something for her daughter… based on a Skip to My Lou tutorial

the outside

It says Hadassa in Hebrew… another vintage button from my MIL…

inside...

I forgot to take a picture of it with everything in place… It holds coloured pencils and a note pad…. she loved it… so do I…. but, I havent had a chance to take picsof my gloves… but I will, cross my heart…

We were in Ein Gedi for the weekend… gorgeous weather (20 Celsius!)… beautiful flowers and wildlife, lots of grass…

yum

and…

wild ibexes, native to the area...

amazing trees…

wow..

and beautiful plants..

🙂

thats all for now! I am off to sleep! Have a wonderful rest of your week! I promise not to disappear again…

MWAH!!!!

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Alexis…

while drifting thru cyberspace, I was touched by the story of Alexis.  Tammy of Country Folk Art has generously put together a silent auxtion, and i have decided to be a part of it. I am donating two items. First, a fabric covered canvas.

red gingham

and an owl of the winner bidder’s choice.

Oliver

Check out Tammy’s blog to see other items up for auction…

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I miss my camera

I miss my camera. the one I have needs to be charged every day. And, I forget (Ziv is sucking my brain out through my boob 🙂 )…

I have been happily crafting along, made 5 bunnies and a scarf, and only took pictures of two bunnies… since everything was given away and I have no pics to show for it, does that mean it never happened? Too philosophical for me…

Here is Yagel’s bunny. He chose the colour and the fabric. It sleeps with him. With him and the other 17 million animals in his bed… it a regular menagerie…

bunny

Since I have nothing to show for my hard work, I’ll show you the work of others… at least someone is wise as well as creative… lol…

30 days is a talented one… she has tones of ideas and tons of links to other people’s great ideas… I have been reading for hours…

the long thread… another amazing blog… I can’t imagine what took me so long to find this one… she has a great list of 100 tutorials of 2008… that could take days to wade through…

And check out Jodie! So cute, so talented, amazing stuff!

And Blessed Roots: what a great way to display her kids’ artwork! I can’t wait for Yagel to draw something for me to hang…

And now, for the unsolicited pics of my two gorgeous kids… who played together yesterday, cracking each other up… and today, had a fight… if you can call it that (Ziv is only 10 months old), but she had a toy and Yagel grabbed it away from her and she cried…. the first of many, I know…

Ziv

another one...

Yagel, swinging the bunny

together...

thanks for reading! MWAH!

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New Year’s Resolution…

Happy New Year all!

I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a feasible New Year’s resolution. And I was successful!

My resolution is to give gifts that are HANDMADE. Either by me, or by some other extremely creative person. Not bad, huh? 🙂

I am still in limbo in computer land…. We bought a new computer and it is been set up probably as we speak… I can’t wait to start rebuilding my favourites list and my files (so far haven’t gotten any positive feedback about the old computer 😦 )…

In the business world, my fabric tags are on their way to being made, this week I am going to make business cards and tags, I am even going to buy a ledger (hopefully I’ll be able to write more than just expenses 🙂 ) and a rubber stamp… AAAK! Exciting stuff!

That’s all for now… Thanks for reading…. MWAH!

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check this out…

Taken from here…

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to – leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars 
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community

36.taught yourself a new language 
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing 
40. seen michelangelo’s david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre 
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies.
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the  everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person 
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby 
95. seen the alamo in person. 
96. swum in the great salt lake. 
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Happy holidays!

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cousins…

my sister and family are here from the states. her two girls are the same age as my two…

the older is 7 weeks older than Yagel, and the younger is 6 weeks older than Ziv… too bad they don’t live closer…

the two big ones have been jumping around, running, playing, fighting, and having a gosh-darned wonderful time. it’s an absolute joy to see them… will add pics soon….

on another plane, my best friend is due for a c-section monday… a little boy… I can’t wait to meet my new nephew (after all, friends are the family that we choose, no?)… her older one is the same age as Yagel and the have known each other since they were 2 month old… they are also so sweet togther…

🙂

something to show at their wedding… lol!

back to the birth…. I promised her a cot bumper, a blanket and a changing table pad… and you know how it is… you think you have a ton of time… 9 months is a loooong time… but it just creeps up on you. and now, I have under a week to finish. AACK!

the cot bumper is done.

the whole thing...

up close

please excuse the not-so-great-as-before pictures… my camera’s in the shop. we dropped it in Eilat.. i misss it so….

and of course, we can’t forget the little princess…

baby-in-a-boxgal smiley

did I mention that you can now subscribe to my blog? how cool is that? now all i have to do is figure out how to add widget-thingeys….

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IF I forget thee, oh Jerusalem…

I should have moved here ages ago! What amazing weather…. I am so enjoying the weather, I can’t even tell you… it’s so much like LA,,, not humid, not sticky, not yucky… temps drop at night and it’s glorious…

Shahar’s kids came for the weekend and the kids had such a great time together…

kid party

Ziv catches a ride at the promenade

brothers...

 

let's fly a kite...

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one week down, two to go…

We have just finished a week without Gan (nursery school). Yagel was in nursery school every day til 4 pm until we moved. He has been home with me and Ziv and Safta for the whole week. I don’t remember the last time I was so tired (yes, I do, when Ziv was born:-P).

We watched way too much TV, played tons of games, ran around, and even managed to unpack 99% of the house… I have my mom to thank for that. SHe has been amazing. Here every day, helping with the kids, unpacking, washing dishes, sweeping the never-ending dust and hairs that I shed… Thank you safta!

My friend Vicky introduced us to a great game about two years ago: Who knows whose nose. It teaches matching and turn taking and is so cute and so much fun. We finally got our own game, and Yagel is now old enough to play. He loves taking turns, but he hasn’t figured out that in the end there is a winner, so we just play till its over…

Who knows whose nose

I can’t wait to get back to sewing. Next week! Hooray! I have a makeup bag to make for a swap, and a list as long as my arm of projects I want to get into.

I can’t write without a yummy pic of my little girl, can I? She has worked out how to turn over from her back to her tummy, but not reall the other way… she gets frustrated… so Imma helps:-)

Ziv

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