Checkin' In

January is gone. It was a looooong month and yet, I find myself surprised that it's over. Funny how that works. The weather and a broken car kept us housebound for most of the month, I usually love winter, but am feeling a longing for spring. Let's get to it.

• We celebrated our Abigail's fourth birthday this month. We kept it simple and as a matter of fact most of our Winnipeg "family" couldn't make it this year. We had a simple family celebration on her actual birthday, then we had a tobogganing party (it miraculously warmed up last weekend) followed by cocoa and cupcakes a week later. We had a good time.

I asked her what she loved and this is what she said.

• I made an e-reader cover for a friend who was going on vacation... unfortunately, we both forgot to make sure she got it before she left and is away on vacation without it. I didn't use any one tutorial, but the features of several. I researched on Pinterest and went from there.

• A Christmas present I haven't shown you yet, was for Micah. He was our only little without a hooded towel and since I found a different tutorial than the one I used for the other ones, I thought I'd give it a try. I like the hidden seams, but it does make the hood smaller and it won't fit him this well for long.

• After having rainbow cupcakes for her third birthday, Abigail requested to have them again. This time David made them and his colours were so vibrant and beautiful. He did a great job!

• I have an iPad mini case under construction for a friend's birthday. I was far too tired to touch it today (the littles were up way too much last night), hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow.
• I forced Micah to like his soother again. Thankfully it's working.
• Still working on my crochet sampler afghan. I'm loving it, though I am also dreaming of crocheting some Hudson's Bay stripes onto a pair of scarves for me and my David. He thought of it and now I can't stop thinking of it. I'm itching to give it a go. Finding the right colours for the stripes may be tricky, but I'll love having the iconic stripes in my wardrobe. I've also pinned quilt and knit versions of the point blankets in hopes of re-creating my own version someday. Unless I can score a second hand one, as new point blankets cost BIG bucks!!!

• I failed my road test. I have my next one booked for the 6th. I want a party when this is all done. Phew! What a crazy experience it's been. Maybe I'll blog about it sometime. UPDATE: I re-booked for the 13th - the logistics worked better that way.

• We have an awesome second hand children's store here. I recently picked up a pile of clothes for Abigail and a pair of shoes for Malachi. The total would have been $32, but I only paid $2.95 after selling a few clothes and using up a gift card that I had. I love the thrill of a good deal.
• I recently confessed something to my friends here and I was so blessed by their gracious and loving responses. I am beyond grateful for the beautiful community we have here. Ladies, you are so precious to me! Thank you for forgiving me and loving me through all my "stuff".
• We are all feeling tired of the cold. My poor littles are about bursting with cabin fever, not to mention this Mama! We went to the mall and let the littles run in the play area for quite awhile last night. It was cute, Abby learned that in order to play tag, you eventually have to do some of the chasing, too. We all needed the change of scenery. I am, however, still loving the snow scene outside my living room window. We live in such a pretty city.