a bit of a detour this morning. cotton candy clouds over the golden gate bridge. two little kids in awe over something so very big. it is, after all, where humphrey swam in so long ago. they love that story. i love autumn days that feel like spring, even though it's technically teasing. (i'll take what i can get before the true cold sets in). my babies against this stunning backdrop had me in good vibes all day. 

happy weekend!

the rest of the world may have been focusing on the elections today, but we had something else topping the list of things important. hudson no longer has to proclaim to the world, "but i'm almost THREE!" it's official. his birthday is finally here. 

i was feeling quite bad yesterday in realizing that i hadn't done much in the way of making anything for hudson's birthday. i had a couple of items tucked away as far as gifts were concerned (a vintage toy truck, a cement mixer and some thrifted brio train track), but nothing mama-made. then i saw lucy prancing around the backyard with a piece of paper clipped to her head, and plans for a birthday crown fell right into place. 
, 

here we have:

figure a: the inspiration. old computer paper, done up with fringe and hair clips to make a " fancy indian crown." 
figure b: the perfectly-timed, highly-unlikely nap that made it all possible. please note the backwards shorts, the dirty feet and the bulldozer tucked under his bottom. little boys are fantastic.
figure c: the finished product. made from wool felt i had on hand and totally thrown together without a pattern or measurements (several fittings took place unbeknownst to the heavy sleeper). 
figure d: lucy's hair today, inspired by all things royal. 

the day's events included a fancy breakfast, a sushi picnic, his first soccer skills class, park time, naptime, tacos, presents, cake from scratch and a much anticipated bob the builder episode. three year olds are so easy to please when you're actively trying to please them. it's amazing. 

still looking forward to a party in his honor this sunday, plus a very special gift arriving next week by mail. to quote lucy, "birthdays are very happy days." yes, this was a good one indeed. 

this little guy was long overdue for a haircut. he, however, disagreed. i stopped picking that battle long ago. so when he came to me at 7:15 this morning asking for a trim, i whipped out the scissors as fast as i could. didn't even have to bribe him with a lollipop, although he did ask for chips and an orange while i was working. lucy was happy to oblige him of that. 

it's nice to see those pretty green eyes again! i didn't get a "before" shot but trust me, they were hidden under a mess of blonde fringe. i think he's happy with the results as well. "mama! i can SEE when i'm working!" yes, good vision is important for any farmer when he's out tilling his fields at 7:30. don't you think?

*note the farmer's choice on jammies--a vintage infant sleeping gown. it's in sad shape after being a long-time first pick from the pajama drawer, but a favorite nonetheless. every time i pull it from the washer i'm thrilled to see it still intact. so sweet on my little boy, who is getting bigger by the day. three years old on tuesday!!!

to be entirely truthful, halloween has always been my least favorite holiday, but each year seeing what fun the kids have draws it a little dearer in my heart. this year we've got a cowboy, a fairy princess and a sweet pea. all three are napping in hopes of a fun trick or treat in costume. if only every day was so exciting!

how could i have neglected to mention the recent fluff & feathers? it's been nearly a month now since these cuties hatched. the backstory is funny--good friends of ours adopted ducklings at the same time we did, last easter. we ordered 2 females and 1 male, and that's what we ended up with. they ordered 3 females and ended up with--you guessed it--3 males. not good for getting eggs, thats for sure. 

since our girls are now laying (and our boy is now fertilizing), we were able to give them a bunch of duck eggs for hatching. they had a broody chicken, who took to the eggs with no problem at all. the end result was six baby ducks following around a mama hen! too cute. 

we visited the ducklings last week, and already they have doubled in size and are getting their grown up feathers. why must all babies grow so terribly fast? 

what appears to be a facelift of sorts for our blog & website is actually a complete move to a new host/website rebuild. i'm hoping that with this more user-friendly site, blogging will be a bit less time consuming, and will rank higher on my "things i'd like to do" list instead of being at the bottom of my "things i don't want to do but should do list." i'm excited! 

we are mostly finished with halloween preparations. hudson opted to be a farmer, which made things quite easy for me. in all honesty, these photos were taken about a month ago on our first trip to the pumpkin patch. you see, hudson dresses himself this way almost every day (except the vintage cowboy shirt, which i stow away for safekeeping). he's a real farmer at heart and you can often find him outside in his boots and hat "working in the fields."

lucy, on the other hand, decided to be a "quiet fairy who delivers easter eggs." though the description was a bit ambiguous, her vision was surprisingly clear. we had lots of fun during a few thrift store adventures picking out pieces to her costume. i have yet to see it all on her together and i am looking forward to wednesday. we are hoping for no rain, though we are not that big on trick or treating. our neighborhood does not have sidewalks so most kids around here seem to go elsewhere. for my non-candy eaters, it seems silly to truck them into a different neighborhood to collect candy that we'll end up throwing away. 

i did, however, LOVE mama natural's "switch witch" idea and have been playing it up with the kids. they're fully excited to hand over any candy they get over the coming days to the sugar-lovin' witch. no idea yet what i'll give them in return, but it will be something small, as hudson's birthday is just around the corner and i'm already brainstorming ideas for the christmas elf. tis the season of stuff, no doubt!

another month gone by! the littlest among us is well on his way to sitting up unassisted. he's all about pulling hair and petting the cat. squealing and cooing and grinning ear to ear at hudson and lucy whenever he catches a glimpse of them. fine baby tricks indeed. i've started packing up all the clothes he's already outgrown--he has truly almost doubled in size. i haven't had him weighed officially but on my own (vintage) baby scale here at home, he is 18.5 pounds. wow!

tucker is definitely the least challenging between the three of the kids. i chalk that up to the fact that he can't talk yet. just give him time. cheers to another good month! 

the egg haul from the chicken coop this morning. two duck eggs, two chicken eggs and a "wind egg." wind eggs are super teeny, and often have no yolk inside. a little mistake, maybe, or a practice egg from a chicken just starting to lay. at any rate, they are fun to get. lucy had a blast busting it open to check for a yolk. there was none. 

a busy end to another busy week. things just don't seem to slow down around here--i guess that's what you get when you're working with a trio of kids. tucker has officially found his feet. it's a bit of an obsession. he finds them completly entertaining which is super convenient--a toy that can't get away from him. check out that thigh chunk. perfection! in case you're wondering, we are cloth diapering as always. with this third go-round, i've packed up all of our pockets, all-in-ones and hybrid diapers--even most of our mama-made fitteds--in favor of a stack of good, old-fashioned prefolds. we have 36 cloth-eze prefolds from green mountain diapers and an assortment of covers. i'm currently drawn to prefolds for their ease of laundering (non-fussy cotton washes up easier than suedecloth and microfiber) and no stuffing/folding/snapping needed when putting them away. we use PUL covers during the day and wool covers at night. i'm pinning the diapers in lieu of a snappi and loving it. i have never been this charmed with the simplicity of prefolds. there is nothing so sweetly vintage on a little baby bum than a plain white prefold & pins!

the thrift haul was good today. i got out without any kids in tow and spent over an hour by myself at my favorite thrift store with a $5 off $10 coupon in hand. tucker got some much-needed long sleeved shirts and a pair of warm robeez boots, and lucy got a new dress. hudson got a jacket, i got a few tops. my total was $26. the boots alone are worth $35 new (they were $2.99), so i was pretty pleased with my purchases!

i managed to do a bit of sewing last night and this afternoon--diaper covers for tucker plus a new liner for my diaper pail. it feels good to be knocking some things off of my ever-growing list. a wonderful friend gave me an old wool sweater, from that i was able to make two new diaper covers. it doesn't get cheaper than free wool! i was reminded of how much i actually love to sew. christmas is apparently around the corner and i'd like to get some handmade items under the tree for the kids to unwrap. if only i could figure out what! we've also got a birthday headed this way--hudson will be THREE on the 6th of november. for his birthday he would like to meet bob the builder and have a cement mixer cake with a backhoe. um, let me get right to work on that. 

two covers--one pull-on longies style, one wrap (with gussets!) with snap closure...

we spent most of this week hanging out at the pool and doing other outside things, soaking up this last bit of sun before the rain heads into our neck of the woods next week. the kids are sporting suntans and bleached hair--eeking out every drop of warm weather that we can. we ate dinners outside and abstained from all things pumpkin. we've even tossed around the idea of a camping trip to close out the end of the month, as long as the weather is right. we'll see. 

thanks for stopping by! 

autumn may very well be in effect, but we're smack dab in the middle of a heatwave. i for one am welcoming it with open arms--we've had lots of fog in recent weeks and have even busted out sweatshirts and jeans for playing outside. i like to keep summer going as long as possible, especially as the days grow ever shorter. 

jeremy took the above photo yesterday. that's my grandpa taking a rest on the slide in the shade. love it. 

there's not too much else to report here. we've been doing a bit of preschool homeschooling in the afternoons, which is taking up some of our time. i have a big collection of vintage workbooks and thrifted schooling materials, along with things that have been handed down to us by my mom, who teaches first grade. it's quite an undertaking, but of course we're taking it very lightly--more like play than anything else. watching and listening to lucy sounding out and spelling words and learning to write is simply amazing. hudson now knows many of his letter sounds, so it seems that this "playtime" is really paying off. i hadn't thought of formally beginning to teach him, he's just kind of picking it up along they way. another benefit to having an older sibling!

i used thredup a few weeks ago in cleaning out lucy's closet and was pleased with what they took and how much they paid for my items. in the past i have used a (sort of) local consignment store and this was much easier. i am not being paid to mention them--just a recommendation if you are looking to part with some kiddie clothes. they send you a big bag, which you then fill with whatever good condition clothes you no longer need. the bag has a prepaid return shipping label, so there is no expense involved with sending away your old stuff!

speaking of stuff, we have been going through toys and books, donating much in an attempt to simplify. i find that if i leave it up to my kids on their own, they will often part with things that i wouldn't have expected. i think that's a good thing. i have to be mindful not to pass my own attachments for certain items on to them. 

i battle with the whole "stuff" thing. many of the toys that we have are classic, vintage or edcuational. because we are a part of thrift culture, most have it has been gotten very cheaply. i keep it well organized, so it's not like we're tripping over junk all day long. when it's all put away, we would appear to have very few toys. not the case at all!

all over blogland, people are embracing minimalism. i liked this post at minimalist mom a lot, mostly because it balances the desire for less with the comfort of having. lucy and hudson keep themselves very busy. we don't have a television--most of their day is spent simply entertaining themselves. jeremy and i are involved with them in the mornings and the evenings, plus a bit of school time in the afternoon. but other than that, if we're at home, these two are on their own. our toys get a lot of use. i appreciate that. they also get dragged out, mixed up and left out for me to clean up. i'll get frustrated to the point of wanting to get rid of more, just so that i have to deal with less. a balancing act for sure. 

well. that's just a bit of what's been on my mind lately. 

oh, and these. we've got everything to make them, just waiting for a cool day to come... yes, they have definitely been taking up space in my mind!