I do all my own stunts

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The busiest room in the house

The nursery:  

I seriously don't know how those mommy bloggers do it.  My twins are 11 months old and I'm just now getting around to sharing these nursery photos.  Although they are not yet literally walking, they have been running circles around me daily (and nightly) since they were born.

Before:

And after:

Nearly all the elements of this nursery were handmade.  The curtains I had planned on sewing myself, but ended up in the hospital on bed rest for the better part of 8 weeks, so my mom graciously did the honors.  She also sewed the liners for the organizer boxes to match the dust ruffle on the cribs.

See:

All the bedding was sewn by my mom.  Amazing!  I am still in awe.  

I made that pillow case with the silly owl fabric one day while the girls were napping.

Look familiar?  I wrote about my Beatrix Potter decoupage dresser project here.  

All the artwork is from vintage story books that my mom found in the basement of an old bookstore that was going out of business.  That is Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin in the middle.  I love the creepy pose he is striking.  There's something so wonderfully disturbing about animal portraiture.  I can't get enough of it.

More of my mom's handiwork:  

The bird mobile was one of my projects.  This gem of a DIY idea came from one of my faves:  design*sponge.  

As you can see, we've got sort of a cacophony of colors, textures and fabrics.  Despite this, it is a very calming and welcoming space.  I think the handmade, vintage feel of the room is charming.  And we managed to give it a very feminine quality while still heeding my husband's request that there be very little pink involved.  As our household's only male, he was feeling a little outnumbered when we found out we were having two girls.  

Functional and beautiful - the best of both worlds.  We spend a lot of time in the nursery.  See:  

Actual baking

 Somebody celebrated Birthday #2

It took me around 3 months after the twins were born, but I did finally turn on my oven and bake something.  It's that time of year again - Jackson's birthday.  My friend Jill's adorable son Jackson turned two in August and Jill let me make the cake again.  While not quite as elaborate as last year's offering, These cupcakes fit in perfectly with Jackson's football themed party.  

I fashioned an extra large cake board to look like a football field and made a super huge helmet cake for the birthday boy himself.  

I also made mini footballs out of tempered chocolate to top the cupcakes.  

If you've never tempered chocolate before, I wouldn't recommended it as it is an enormous pain in the arse - unless you are like me and are determined to master all the most difficult baking, pastry and candy making techniques to the severe detriment of your sanity.  It definitely gets easier with practice.  After 5 or 6 years of practice, I can finally make that statement without my nose growing.  

Jackson's party was fantastic despite the ever present Seattle rain, complete with a visit from a real live fire truck.  Check out Jill's fantastic photos and more about the big celebration here.  You can even catch a glimpse of the youngest attendee at the party, Astrid, (a title narrowly missed by her 'big' sister, Clover who is a whole minute older) being held by her Auntie Dana.  

Look what I baked

Astrid and Clover - Born May 12, 2010

Big sister Clover

Little sister Astrid

This photo was taken yesterday, on their 4-week-old birthday.  Every week...every day actually, feels like a huge milestone, and yet it has absolutely flown by.  Baking, crafting, knitting, blogging has not made it into my daily routine.  Though I received plenty of advice about how my life will change with the birth of my twins, I was wildly unprepared for how much work it would be.  I had never had a 24 hour workday before, so I had no idea what I was in for. 

Though not necessarily blog-worthy, I have been cooking in a sense.  I've been preparing and serving 8 to 12 meals a day for two hungry twins.  I've also developed the skill quickly mastered by new mothers everywhere, of doing everything one handed.  Typing, for example, as I am doing now.  And because I have twins, I often do things no-handed using my elbows, shoulders, hips and supremely dextrous feet to complete certain tasks.  Yes.  This is my life now.  

And although I was told more times than I could count, I was also wildly unprepared for how much my lifestyle would change.  Today, I was able to get out of the house for an hour or so to make a much-needed grocery store visit.  My car radio was tuned to KEXP, as usual, but I hadn't had the occasion to listen to the radio at all in these past 4 weeks.  Hearing Radiohead on KEXP felt so deliciously wonderful and reminiscent - like a souvenir from my old life.  As I rushed home to my girls, I turned the music up loud and breathed in my former self.  And I realized that I haven't lost anything, I am still the girl cruising in the car listening to KEXP.  I'm still me, I'm just me as a mom; and thinking about all that I've gained just made me feel lucky.  

They are silly and beautiful and angelic and fussy and hilarious and baffling and overwhelming and perfect all at the same time.  The best way I can think to describe it is that it feels like a gift.  The best gift I ever got.  

(Thanks to my lovely and talented friend, Jill, for the top and the bottom photos).  

In my spare time

I've been knitting.

...up a storm.  

These little babydoll dresses just flew off my needles.  Absolutely no seaming was involved.  That seems to be my criteria for embarking on a new knitting project.  I used Sirdar Snuggly Bamboo DK yarn.  It is so easy to work with and the colors are so beautiful.  The pattern came from Ravelry which I am absolutely obsessed with.  It has become my most trusted source for knitting inspiration, patterns and helpful tips.  

What are these?  Why they're cloth diaper covers, of course.  I've read that knitted wool is the best material for a diaper cover.  It absolutely never leaks.  I was skeptical at first, but my grandma confirmed that yes, this is how they used to do it 'in the olden days' (her words, not mine).  I have an enormous amount of wool in my yarn stash, so I thought I'd give it a go.  

Cloth diapering with twins - you may think I've completely gone insane.  I won't dispute you on that.  I've read that one should expect to go through 600 diapers in the first month with twins.  But I've also read that each child using disposables is responsible for one ton of landfill space.  I just can't get over that statistic.  I've also read that the chemicals used in disposable diapers are dangerous not just for the environment, but for your baby as well.  And the fact that cloth diapers are less expensive made the decision an easy one.  Look at me.  I'm so green and frugal I hardly recognize myself.  

If you're interested in learning more about cloth diapering check out these quick articles recently posted on Simple Mom.  Here  and here.  

Next up:  Sweet Pea Hats to match the two little cardigans I wrote about a while back.  I just love this yarn, Manos Del Uruguay Silk Blend.  I had quite a bit of it left over from the cardigan project and there is just nothing cuter than a baby in a hand-knit hat, right?  Oh wait, there is:  Two babies in matching hand-knit hats.  

I used my go-to hat pattern for this:  'Kim's Hats' from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  And the flower instructions come from Stitch and Bitch Nation.  

And lastly:  My book club buddies gave me this fantastic Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton yarn as part of a baby gift.  The colors are so calming and delightful, I thought a pair of bonnets would be a perfect use for it.  Even though bunnies have totally creeped me out ever since I saw Donnie Darko, I really liked this patern I found on Ravelry.  

I think it is supposed to be modeled after an anime character, but I am entirely unfamiliar with that craze.  I just like its silly little face and floppy ears.  The blue eyed one has a little bit of the Donnie Darko look, but not enough to give me nightmares.  I hope.  

I taught myself how to crochet for this pattern in order to embroider those eyes on the bonnets.  It was an interesting diversion, but I think I'll stick to knitting.  I have a lot of spare time right now, but once the babies arrive, I highly doubt I'll be at liberty to just strike up a new hobby on a whim.  Who am I kidding?  Hobbies are like handbags; there is always room for more in your collection.