Nice try little buddy

"No broccoli. That too yummy for me."

Easiest Give Away Ever...

In an attempt to not be so behind-the-times, Junie None is now on Facebook! And... I am bribing you to become a "fan" by hosting a giveaway. Everyone who "likes" the Junie None Facebook page from now until Monday night will be entered into a drawing to win this super cute deluxe mini baby quilt. Just click here, sign in to your Facebook account, "like" us, and you are automatically entered to win. You don't even have to think of anything original or cute to write - just click. :) Happy Monday!

Baby Bedding

I finally finished this project I've been working on and I couldn't be more pleased! A very sweet customer trusted me enough to make her a crib set (bumpers and a matching quilt) even though I had never made crib bumpers before. I love how they turned out - I even made piping and attached it with no mess-ups! The internet is so great - you can search for pretty much anything and learn to do it right at your computer.

She chose the fabric - they are designing their new baby boy's room to look like a "lodge" and she wanted blues and reds. Pretty darn cute. Not sure if Junie None will be offering a range of crib bumpers in the future... these things are pretty time consuming to make! But it's nice to know I can do it if asked again.

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday my Grandpa Mack passed away. He passed on peacefully to be with his beloved Lord while he was at home with his family. He was such a delightful and precious man, and I have fond memories of him from babyhood until now. He had a knack for making people feel at ease, making them laugh, and conveying God's love to them. I will miss him even though I am happy for him to be in heaven. This picture is from two years ago, when I was on bed rest and Grandpa came to visit me. He read books to Moses, sang songs with us, and cheered me up.

So, I am a bit sad today. Fresh losses always bring back some of the sadness I still have about my Mom, and this being my Mom's father, things are kind of a sad jumble around here. Fortunately, I have left-overs to heat up for dinner and a nice soothing sewing project to work on tonight. And three great guys running around the house (well, two of them are running, the third is pretty wiped out from working outside in the rain all day) making me very, very grateful for my life and family.

Contemporary Jewish Museum

A couple weeks ago, my in-laws took the boys and me on a very cultured trip to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. The highlight: "Georgie!" (Titus loves George. He regularly absconds with Moses' George blanket and sleeps with it and as many George books as he can sneak into his bed.) Here are the boys standing in front of the museum, which is closed. Luckily, Golden Gate park is just a short drive away, so we had no problem filling in our accidental extra two hours.

When we returned to the museum, wet and sandy from the playground in the rain, we visited the exhibit about Margaret and H.A. Rey, the authors and illustrators of Curious George. It was beautifully done! I would have NEVER taken my 5 and 2 year olds to a museum if my mother-in-law hadn't insisted that it was kid-friendly, and she was definitely right. There was a very cool interactive touch-screen time line of the Rey's escape from the Nazis that was tactfully done so as not to traumatize young children. Did you know that at one point they traveled by night on bicycles that he built from pieced-together bits of metal? Pretty incredible. We learned a lot, had tons of fun, and one of us had a very nice nap on the way home. A great day (and I didn't even have to drive) - thanks Gail and Steve!

Caution: story of death and blood. Maybe don't even read it...

The grim reality of farm life (and the part I don't take pictures of) is that animals die up here. There are fewer roads, fewer people, more animals, and a lot more space for them to bother each other. Unfortunately, over the last week my poor little kids have been exposed to some of these less-than-pleasant truths. What makes it even worse is that the animals involved are our puppy Bentley and our chickens, who we raised from birth. How does one choose between two pets? Well, it seems that when one of them starts eating the others, the predator has to go. We aren't farmy enough to take Bently to the back 40 and shoot him, but we will need to find him a new home. I am so sad. But I was also sad to come home today and have to put a chicken "out of its misery" since Bentley hadn't finished the job. And that was the second time this week (and the fourth in Bentley's life with us). Yes, my kids were right there crying. And I cried too, hardened farm girl that I am. What a mess. Sorry to write such a downer post - aren't you glad you live in the suburbs?

More Bibs

A dear friend of mine is having her first baby soon, and I made these bibs for her. As usual, these were hard to part with, even though I no longer have any bib-wearers in the house. Isn't this bike print adorable? I love it.

I know I've said it before, but I am definitely working to get bibs back in the shop soon. I'll be switching to a velcro closure rather than snaps because of all the new laws about putting metal on kids items (even though I use strictly lead-free snaps, the documentation involved makes it easier to just make the switch). Once I make that adjustment and get special tags made up, you too can put a Junie None bib on your baby.

Busyness (did I spell that right?)

I'm still here... just busy. :) This week is full of registering for Kindergarten and all the doctor and dentist appointments that requires, as well as finishing a few important sewing projects, dealing with chicken disasters, sorting buttons... I hope to be back to regular blogging next week and have my head on straight enough to write something that makes sense. Until then, enjoy the rest of your week!

Retail Therapy

Today my husband came home with this little white box. If you are familiar with this little white box, you know there wasn't a 6 pack of beer in here. My husband, who goes to the mall once per year, under duress, to buy Christmas gifts and buys clothes for himself only when his work shirts are "pitted out" bought me an entire outfit from my very favorite store. Just for the heck of it. And it even fits! The man knows how to make a girl feel special. :)