(never a) Wordless Wednesday: Friends and Books

(Sometimes- depending on the time of morning, depending on the temperature, and depending on my mood- when we get back from our morning walk, I'll open up the garage door for the kids and let them play for a little bit. When given the choice of what to play with, my oldest will walk right past the butterfly nets, completely ignore the sidewalk chalk and all of its brilliance, dig past the dirt covered action figures and matchbox cars- and head straight for the books.)



(Its rare that she sits alone though. She always has a friend with her.)

(Do you remember my on-occasion talk of who she likes to keep company with? I've mentioned a few times, of her two very best imaginary friends- Piglet, and Donkey.)

(I knew when I found a toy Donkey baby- because Donkey married the Dragon, ya know- at a garage sale, that she'd connect and bond with it instantly. But her and Charlie both, love that thing more than they love chocolate. And thats saying a lot.)



(So, my pictures are a little blurry. Sometimes my memories themselves, are a little bit blurry.)

(From what I can recall- while Miss Eleanore was having fairytale land story time, sitting pretty with an armful of toys, Mr Charlie was off running around with the baby doll stroller...)



(He tends to gravitate towards anything with wheels. And if you can push the thing with wheels- well hot dog!)

(Just recently, I decided that maybe its time we teach him how to be a "Little Daddy", since Bean will be here in just two short months. Instead of pushing around an empty stroller, ridiculous child, maybe its time we add a friend into the mix?)



(Ok, or not, tough guy. It was just a suggestion.)

(Ok well while you're busy pushing around your empty stroller there, big Papa, I have to literally sprint back into the garage, because- is your Sister doing what I think shes doing?)



(YES! Ladies and gentlemen- mostly ladies though, I'm sure- that right there, is a smile!!!)

(Catching a smile from Miss Attitude Eleanore, is very rare these days. If she is smiling, its because shes a) doing something very bad, or b) because I've bribed her to.)



(Stop it! The cute is too much! I don't think I can handle the happiness!)

(It almost broke my heart when the blackjacket came out of nowhere and caused me to run away screaming like a girl, popping the awww-look-at-my-little-princess peace bubble that had somehow formed around us.)



(And would you look at this guy? I can't believe how tall hes getting.)

(When I look down at him from this angle, he doesn't appear to be a baby anymore. Hes a handsome little boy.)

(A handsome little boy who pushes around an empty baby doll stroller.)



(Oh wait, I forgot something? Well thank you sir! I'd be absolutely lost without my lens ca- wait. Are you just giving me that because I dropped it into the stroller, and how dare something other than air be sitting in there?)

(...right. That makes sense. Of course.)

(So I put the lens cap back onto the camera, courtesy of the little one, and inside we all went for the day. Charlie, Eleanore, Mama, Bean... and Donkey.)

(The stroller had to stay outside.)

Win A Handmade Tiny Amigurumi Teddy!

You know what we haven't done on this here blog in ages? A giveaway!

I'm always coming across cute things that I want to share with you guys, but- I don't want to takeover this space with posts of all of the "I wants", ya know? I need to save room for all of the "watch my kid stomp in puddles!" and "check out my giant lop sided baby belly" posts. But sometimes, every once in awhile, I have the opportunity to share the "I want" with you, so today, thats exactly what I'm going to do...


Dawn over at Lost Sentiments, has so graciously offered up a handmade tiny amigurumi teddy of your choice, to one of our lucky friends (that would be you).

I could give you a million reasons why I love these teddy's, but I've got a loaf of brown rice bread to bake, an entire downstairs worth of hardwood floors to clean, and a child (who is in her bedroom for time out for the next hour, due to rudely knocking her brother down the slide, stealing his plastic tool toys, running away laughing about it, and then kicking me multiple times) to yell at- so I'll only be able to give you a few (reasons, for liking them, in case you got lost in the my-child-is-a-beast rant).

And some of those reasons are...

I really like faceless characters. Faceless being, nothing I've seen on a commercial for anything, ever. Friends that come with previously determined attitudes or expectations (I adored Strawberry Shortcake when I was a little girl, but according to her, and now my daughter, there should be cream and sugar added to everything) turn my child's playtime into a headache. Its not always so bad (we still indulge in the occasional Pooh Bear or Donkey from Shrek toy), but I prefer it when she really has to put that imagination of hers to work, to bring a new friend to life.

These little guys are handmade, they come from a smoke free pet free home. And they're so itsy bitsy cute (standing at only 4" tall).

These amigurumi bears are machine washable! YES!! ...I can't stand it when my kids have a toy that is "spot clean only", because really- can you spot clean only anything, after its been in tiny little applesauce covered hands? No matter how hard we try to wipe down the applesauce from in between the fingers when getting the little ones down from the table, it still manages to appear out of nowhere, doesn't it?

Can you tell I'm having kind of a rough morning? My husband started swing shift yesterday, things are hectic. And the monster is out of timeout now.

************************** To win a lil' amigurumi teddy friend of your own, simply visit Dawn's Etsy shop Lost Sentiments (click that link right there, or the giveaway image a few paragraphs up), have a look around, and then come back here and tell us which teddy you'd want to win, and why. And make sure to leave your email, or some way for me to get a hold of you. Otherwise, thats called a giveaway fail. And I don't want anybody to fail!

This giveaway is open to both US and Canadian residents. Heck lets just go ahead and make it worldwide, won't we? Anybody can win.

This giveaway will close on Tuesday June 15th. The winner will be contacted by email the next day (Wednesday the 16th).

Ok, so- recap. Visit Dawn's shop. Leave a comment saying which tiny bear you'd like to win (and why). Leave your email. Anyone can win.

Good luck!!