wordless

big boys

we are finally getting around to transforming the bedroom in our house that theo and emmett share from "nursery" to "big boy room."

before rubin came home last year, i thought that he and theo would share a bedroom. i had no idea how long the jet-lag/grieving/confusion would last and, ultimately, what i thought would be certainly was not.

long story (which involves moving multiple beds multiple times between two rooms...) short, rubin has his own room now and theo and emmett share another. this room was theo's nursery when we moved here almost 4 years ago, and it has since housed nursery things and nursery colors.

when we had the basement painted a few weeks ago, we also lost the robin's egg blue in the boys' room, replacing it with timber wolf grey.

some awesome robot bedding from the land of n*d, an ets*y purchase (or two), some old-fashion snail mail from becca (you'll see what i mean soon) and beautiful artwork ala theodore later, we are well on our way to an incredible big boy room.

(and, yes, theo painted an afro on his robot. if you know me, you know that it took a lot for me to relinquish control and go with his flow. all said and done, it's truly groovy. thank you, lora, for the inspiration!!)

and the winner is...

congratulations, kris and x!!

i will save myself the postage and deliver your prizes when we see you early next week!!

(we can't wait!)

the boys and i had a hoot making

(and then watching, about 27 times before bed...)

this video.

i am already super. duper. excited. about my next giveaway...

another handmade item custom crafted for this family squish!

i just know that you are going to love it, too.

stay tuned...

we are so excited...

... because tonight we get to pick a winner!!

(make sure you've entered our giveaway.)

black & white, wordless wednesday...

Bi-polar blog/basement update

I can't get this blog to work.

I've been crushing on my girlfriend Lora's huge blog photos for a week or so now, so I thought I would give them a try here when I post a photo that I feel is ginormous-worthy.

I thought I had it figured out until today, when my picture suddenly became "unavailable" and everything I did to fix it failed. I think this family squish might just be suffering from some sort of identity crisis, thanks to my incompetency and my indecision...

Before it gets any further along, I thought I'd share updated pictures of the progress made on our basement remodel. Paint... check!!

(spare bedroom)

(family room)

(play area)

(bathroom)

Now it's time to stain doors and trim. Any volunteers??

Don't forget, the drawing for our giveaway is this Friday! Get yourself entered now!

oh, boys...

i've been a bit unsettled lately with the "look" of my blog.

bear with me as i take the next couple of days to play around with it a bit.

when all else fails, i think humongous photos of beautiful little boys are in order...

Because we can...

It's just. time. for another giveaway here at This Family Squish...

I've been thinking about it for awhile...

(in recognition of our referral anniversary)

(in celebration of the Lunar New Year)

(when we reached 25,000 blog hits)

(yada, yada, yada!)

Obviously, all of these milestones came and passed me by, and I never got my rear in gear fast enough to put a giveaway together.

Now, it's just. time.

Thanks to a note from my friend Laura about a month ago, and after last week when I put together this post about Pam & Lora and Erin, I got to thinking...

Why not feature the creative talents of some of my favorite women with future This Family Squish giveaways? I have a pool of plenty to choose from and I'm all about showing them off to all of you...

So I quickly contacted my friend Ellen, who I met in 1999 when we were both students working for UW-Madison's SAFE nighttime services. Ellen is the mama to two fantastic little boys who works for a local non-profit and runs Half-Pint Resale in her free time. Ellen's blog is one of my all-time-favorites, from it's Half-Pint Printables to it's Thrift Tips...

When Emmett was born, Ellen delivered black bean burgers to my doorstep and the most adorable, handmade "upcycled" jersey knot hat. Last week I asked Ellen if she had a hat that might work for my giveaway and in less than 48 hours she made one especially for me to give away to one of you!

The boys, of course, were more than happy to model Ellen's creation:

(detail)

Ellen doesn't typically create hats to fit children over 2 years of age, but when I told her that

1.) many of my readers have babes approaching

their terrific (the power of positive thinking) twos AND

2.) some of my readers have monster babies with ginormous heads

she made me a size 2 PLUS hat!

As you can see, this baby fits all three of the boys beautifully.

Like it was made for each of them.

So whether your babe's head is peanut sized OR watermelon sized, this hat is the perfect spring cap for you!!

In addition to Ellen's hat, the boys and I also decided that we wanted to share one of our favorite books with a lucky reader.

For Christmas 2007 Theo and Emmett received a copy of Roseanne Thong's Round is a Mooncake from my dear friend Norbyah. It is an awesome book of shapes with an Asian theme that is one of our most loved reads. If you aren't familiar with Thong or illustrator Grace Lin, (and if you aren't lucky enough to win the copy that we just purchased for you on Am*azon!) you just. must. check them out!

Now, to enter:

All you have to do is leave us a comment below. And, please, tell us one thing you are looking forward to doing this summer. We enjoyed 60 degrees here today, and we are dreaming of warm weather capers!

(A winner will be chosen on Friday March 26th...

just in time for spring break!!)

An Ode to Emmett's Hair

I held on, to you,

far longer than I should have

finally

fully

understanding that which

I mocked before I was his mother.

Baby curls gone awry

I've taken too much time.

Be gone, little Blagojevich,

good bye.

Guess what??

Wordless Wednesday: Little Mr. Independent

A shout out. Some props. I'm bursting with pride!

Recently, a few of my very dear girlfriends accomplished some pretty remarkable creative milestones. I am so proud of each of them, and I can't help myself but to share their good stuff, and them, with all of you.

Excuse me for just one minute while I burst...

Lora and Pam have been working so hard, collectively for years, to build their own photography business. Their website is up and running and, while they've been taking beautiful photos for others for quite some time now, Pam & Lora Photography has officially been launched.

If you look around, you'll see some familiar faces amongst the incredible portraits that comprise their already impressive portfolio. I can't wait to ask them to photograph my family this Spring. I'm excited to see them reach new heights together. Every day, their creative eyes inspire me.

______________________________________________________

When I toasted my best friend and her new husband at her wedding two summers ago I opened with these words:

I can't remember a time when I didn't know Erin. Some of my earliest memories include snuggling with Erin and her brother on their parents' bed, watching Mary Poppins while tucked between their sheets; Tending to injured baby bunnies or birds together, nestling them safely in an old shoe box after they had, most likely, been mauled by Erin's cat.. or her dog Molly, who also knocked out my two front teeth; Fearfully observing our kindergarden classmate drive his mother's car down Erin's driveway at 5 years old; Roller-skating with pillows fastened to our rumps; Sharing, repeatedly, the secret of good coloring...

When I look now at at her life's work, the art work that is being crafted at her fingertips, I have no doubt that she was holding out on me. She has more secrets and tricks and talents up her short sleeves than she ever let on, and I can't wait to see what she creates next. I treasure every inch of it, from the fairy painting she gave me on my 10th birthday to the portrait she painted of me when I graduated from college. Erin Beaver, you never cease to amaze me.

You go, girls. Get on with your bad selves.

____________________________________________________

What happens in Mexico...

Oh, don't worry.

I won't share all of the dirty details.

These are just a few highlights from our trip:

Wonderful food (most importantly)

and drinks.

Daily (sometimes twice) runs and walks on the beach

with my incredible husband/best friend

finding treasures in the sand.

An amazing snorkeling excursion on a catamaran

that ended with a sunset sail.

Shopping/cruise ship watching in San Miguel.

Relaxation.

Rest.

Seven whole days with this man

by my side.

Bliss.

For starters...

So much catching up to do.

First, before and after shots of what was happening on our home front while we were away last week...

I like to refer to this as "Project Nolasco," in anticipation of hosting Norbyah and her crew when they visit the states this summer.

But it could just as easily be called "Project Keaty" or "Project Put Up A Bloggy Friend Family That Decides to Visit Us In Madison." The major overhaul of our basement includes a private bathroom, a guest bedroom, a family room with attached play room, and a utilities area.

Come one, come all.

Before

After

Shower detail. This thing is big enough to wash a family of 6, folks.

All at once.

The Murphy clan plus Theo already gave it a dry run for us.

Before

After

Our incredible friends Tim and Katie put A LOT of time and energy into this project while we were gone. Dave and I were both amazed (or, freaking out, as Theo would say) at how much they got done. Next steps: painting, trimming, carpeting.

We'll be ready to accommodate you this spring.