SPC Day 3, Cheerio Necklace

I will apologize in advance if this post doesn't come across as coherent. Girl Bee is laying on the floor at my feet and demanding that I give her a hand and help her up or she may be stuck on the floor forever. She is also nearly naked and just threatened to sumo wrestle her little brother while yelling "OH, YEAH? WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME? BRING IT ON! OH, YEAH?"

We've had an interesting day.

Is it bedtime yet?

Today's Photo Challenge prompt was "retrospect". 

(Hold on, Girl Bee is demanding that I admire her as she is a Princess "capertillar" across the floor.)

And I have this...

when were were deciding on names for our daughter/sumo/wrestler/caterpillar princess/resident drama queen, we had found a few that we didn't quite agree on. And then we found...

Yep, Aeris. This is my topic for "retrospect".
At first, I wasn't sure... Mr. Bee suggested it thinking of Final Fantasy VII, but the first thing that came to mind was honestly Eris, the Greek Goddess of discord, chaos and strife.
Wasn't that just asking for trouble, naming a baby that?

But then I thought... why not?
It's pretty, it's not common like Sophia or Ava. Having a different name would be a blessing after growing up as one of twenty "Jessicas" in my graduating class.

So Aeris it was.
In retrospect, it's perfect. Especially for a sumo wrestling caterpillar princess.

And speaking of Girl Bee... she's supposed to be starting preschool soon, we're just waiting on the waiting list to clear out before we can get her registered (tiny town, very limited options). I've been trying to keep her occupied here at home, but it's difficult when you're trying to work with someone younger and who knows less simultaneously. 

Today's project was to hone fine motor skills. So we mad a cheerio necklace. The yarn kept fraying, though, so I dug around until I found my big, plastic yarn needle. Thank goodness I held onto it.

She did really well and once she got the hang of aiming the needle point through the circle, she flew through it.

Naturally, a tedious task like this requires our best blue apron.

Added Bonus: portable snack time.

Happy Skyscraper Day!

SPC Day 2, Sweater Pillow

We had a long night in the Bee household. One toddler was up every few hours before she passed out on our bedroom floor and wouldn't be moved and another toddler rose with the sun. 

And let me tell you, the sun gets up waaaaay too early.

Today's photo-challenge is probably one of the hardest on the list. Seriously, where are you going to see a Rhino?

I got lucky and realized (4 hours after I dressed him) that Boy Bee had a rhino on his shirt today. I told you we had a long night.

(AH! I see you have been blinded by the sun glare from my dining room window!)

I had the urge to destroy and remake something today. I through my old "clothes to upcycle" box and found a few options; an old cashmere sweater to dismember and turn into a large pillow for the stairwell, a tunic to make into a toddler maxi dress and a long sleeve shirt that would make great toddler winter leggings.

I went with the easiest. Three cuts, three quick runs through the brother, a half hour of hand stuffing.and twenty stitches by hand later and there you have it.

Lime green, cashmere floor pillow.

I just said "cashmere" and "floor" in the same sentence. That's a first.

Happy Labor Day!

Ironically, it's also National Beheading Day... hurrah?

Happy September!

Happy September, ladies and gents!
As we speak, Autumn is exactly three weeks out and now we can activate our dictionary-decided September photo challenge!

Today's prompt is "downsize", and feel free to interpret that however you like.
I photographed my yarn basket. I haven't taken out the skeins that I used to finish up Boy Bee's blanket, and I switched to anothet project that only needs one (very large) skein. Time to downsize!

Also, I started (and finished!) my first craft goal already! I made Mr. Bee's necklace for his upcoming convention. This is just floral foam with acrylic paint. I should have a black leather cord around here somewhere... Next is the cape.

We're also testing out a new recipe tonight: low-carb meatball soup.
You can find the recipe here: http://pixydust.net/?p=1794.

I did modify to meet my twisted standards. Since the average meatball at the supermaket clocks in at near to 2-3 carbs a meatball, I decided to make my own. This was a smart move, but I should have baked them beforehand and put them into the crockpot already cooked. I also used chicken instead of beef, so they wound up sort of flaky.
Instead of putting the onions into the soup, I added them (minced) into the meatballs.
I'm also not adding green onions, but I will add some fresh spinach before serving so that it cooks just enough without making it soggy.|
So far, it smells great! Sure tastes good, too. :) And excluding the exceedingly minor carbs in the mushrooms and the spinach, it's totally carb free. All things told, by making my own meatballs, I cut out probably close to 15 carbs per serving. And that's great when you're trying to trigger ketosis.