Once again, I was pretty proud of myself for getting the kids’ Halloween costumes done ahead of time.  I love making the costumes for the kids (I always did fantasize about being a costume designer), and the key to doing it stress-free, is starting very early.

Much to my chagrin, The Girl chose to be a [...]

I love the springtime.  It’s my favorite season here in Florida, and it can be fleeting.  I love the whole spring holiday aesthetic: pastel colors, birdies, eggs.  What’s not to love about that?  I vowed to not let the holiday sneak up on me this year but it did anyway.  It seems that every year [...]

I’m sure you know that the progress on this sweater can mean only one thing: The Boy unfortunately came down with The Girl’s flu.  For some reason the Daddy Monkey and I have been spared (so far, anyway) and for that I am extremely grateful. <repeats to self> I am healthy, I am healthy, I [...]

The Girl was afflicted with a serious stomach virus over the weekend.  She’s still feeling weak and moving slow, but I think she’s on the mend…finally.  And I didn’t really pop in here to write about that (although it will explain my absence from this space over the last few days).  The silver lining on [...]

Many years ago, I’m not sure when, The Daddy Monkey’s Babci (“babci” is Polish for Grandmother) made for him a little stuffed red horse.  It became his lovey when he was a small child.  Over many years, Horsey (as he came to be called) was dragged everywhere and became quite dirty and worn.  His mother [...]

The Monkey Family will be throwing a huge Dia de los Muertos bash this weekend!  We used to throw these parties annually, but the last one we threw was three years ago, while The Girl was still in my belly.  I cannot believe I managed to throw this party while pregnant because it is a [...]

I made these for the kids’ Advent calendar.

A star for The Boy.

A heart for The Girl.

One day, The Boy saw me drawing in my sketchbook.  When he found out I was drawing ideas for toys I had, he said, “You can make TOYS?!” When I told him that indeed I could, he asked for a cat for Christmas.
The “fabric” is a thriftshop wool sweater that I felted (washed and dried [...]

This was the first year I had two costumes to make, and knowing it would take some serious time, I started in early September.  I cannot say how happy I was to have them finished with a week to spare.
I am so thrilled with how both costumes look, and I am really happy that I [...]

This was my toy box when I was a little girl.  My mother made it in a woodworking class when we lived in Kansas.  I was not known as a neat child by any means, and I found the toy box to be a great place to hide, rather than a great place to put [...]