Thursday, April 26, 2012

Olvera Street

This weekend we said "fuck it" to our myriad plans & obligations & hit Olvera Street with our favorite people. (Pics stolen from the Goulds' Instagram because I forgot my phone at home. Thanks Jen & Tom!).

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We met up with The Goulds & Tio & Aunty at the Metro station and took the train to Union Station. Look how sad our little Metro map is.

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It was Dash's first time on the Metro.

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Not sure why Josh & I look like we're completely insane (aside from the usual reasons). But look at how cute Ollie is in his hat! (Tom's cute in his hat, too).

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After too much lunch, Dash got a churro & a wrestler mask (his Luchadore name: Mysterioso), so he was pretty content.

These are Tom's beautiful pictures from the day (hire him to do magical arty things for you here: http://tomgould.net/):

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Making Stuff

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Oh nothing, just made a hat for Oliver.

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Action shot! (It's reversible, the green was on the inside in the last pic).

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Mustachioed cloud pillow for our sweet two-year-old Mugsy. 

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There will be more of these. Yeah there will.

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AND! It took two long years but I finally did it! Zaza's very own Nana!

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Doesn't he look cozy?


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Lots of Pictures of Dash Playing Baseball

Because I will never stop being amazed that this kid can play sports. Never.

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He caught that!

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Presented with the game ball. Josh is weeping with pride behind those glasses.

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Metamorphosis

You may recall that we invited a couple of caterpillars into our home a few weeks ago.

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At the time I thought for sure they'd be the most revolting residents of the Engel house. But then they did the unimaginable & became even more disgusting by entering theichrysalis stage. 

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Once we saw that they were safely tucked away in their little cocoons, we built & decorated cardboard homes for them & then we (read: Josh) moved them in.

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If I were a betting man, I would have put good money down that this would be then last we'd see of Stretch & Tiny. I mean, I learned about metamorphosis in school, but I only half believed it. Some things just stretch credulity, you know? The fact that a lovely butterfly could grow out of some dusty, suspended turd seemed improbable at best.

But then! One afternoon I peeked into Stretch's box & was a-to-the-fucking-stonished to see this:

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And so, just like that, it was time to say goodbye to our insect friends. We took them outside & said our farewells. 

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Tiny was off like a shot, but Stretch required a hand getting out of the box.

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He hung out on the bush for a few hours while we fretted, but eventually Stretch took off for parts unknown, as well.

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What remained.


And so, what I've learned is this: despite the miraculous beauty & mystery of nature, I am still totally & utterly grossed out by the whole thing.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Boys

Dash has been demanding Outback for a week. I don't know why. I just nod & smile & act busy most days.

Anyway, last night we went & Dash got steak & I got this picture:
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I win.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Books

So the child woke up a couple of weeks ago & he could read. Just: poof, I can read now. I'm pretty sure that every single person who knows me understands that this is the single greatest development of the last 6 years (OK, maybe his birth was number one. MAYBE).

Anyway, the Easter Bunny got him a chapter book (Captain Underpants--I would have gone with something loftier--say, Count of Monte Cristo, or some such--but who am I to second-guess the Easter Bunny?) & he has been consumed by it. He carries it around with him, reads it whenever he's sitting still (not that often, but hey), and reads a few pages to Josh & me before bed each night.

Yesterday was Dash's first day back to school after Spring break & his teacher asked them all to write about what they did on their vacations. Here's Dash's:

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"Over spring breake I got a chaptr book. Also I went to my frends hows."

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I only have one question: in the picture, is he reading on the toilet?

Easter Doings

So, as I mentioned yesterday, we got to celebrate Easter with some of our most beloved friends & family this weekend. Do you have those moments where you stop cleaning & yelling & making lists just long enough to be completely overwhelmed by how truly, truly lucky you are? Me, too.

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Dash & one of his besties, Ben, hit up the Central Park egg hunt on Saturday morning. (I have no idea why he chose to wear a Netflix shirt or why we let him.)

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He seems to have had some success.

After the hunt, our guests arrived for an evening of ham & chocolate & wine (not together).

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Aunty & Tio are a handsome couple.

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Beer, ping pong & baby. This is a man who knows how to multitask.

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Half naked, eating an Easter bunny. Why the hell not?

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Oliver's parents are going to be so mad at me when I steal him away to Mexico & raise him as my own.

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Dash's cousin Kyler was so cute we decided not to return him to his parents until the next morning.

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Fuck yeah Easter ham! (Courtesy of the lovely and talented Sharon Babkes!)

Monday, April 09, 2012

Easter Baskets

We hosted Easter dinner (well, Easter eve, since we did it on Saturday, but we did the full ham/egg hunt/gorge on chocolate thing, so I'm calling it Easter) for our O.G. Posse this weekend. And because now there are CHILDREN! TO MAKE SHIT FOR! BECAUSE CHILDREN ARE MY FAVORITE! I made some Easter baskets. Wanna look?

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Here is Miss Viola June's basket. Viola is two years old & wears skinny jeans & gold shoes. She is my soulmate. I made the bunny & dress (sans buttons because Viola is smart but she still can't be trusted around choking hazards) from Jenny at Allsorts' patterns.

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Closeup!

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Bunny butt!

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I made this badge out of wool felt after seeing something similar in Mollie Makes magazine. 

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This is Oliver Gray's basket. Oliver is five months old and he got a boy-bunny & a bib that is way too small--boo. I Am a Bunny is still one of our most beloved books from when Dash was a baby. If I could eat the illustrations I would. 

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I didn't get a picture of Dash's haul all laid out, but try to contain your shock when I tell you it was excessive.

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Since our family mascot is a jackalope (I just read that out loud & now I can't stop laughing because a: we have a family mascot & b: it's a mythical, antlered bunny), I altered the pattern slightly to add some horns.

We actually had two more smalls come spend the evening with us--Dash's sweet cousins Kyler & Jesse--and they got baskets featuring Liz-made bunnies, as well, but I didn't get a chance to photograph them. I know you're probably devastated.