Friday, February 29, 2008

Baskets of junk

For the past few years since the Easter Bunny has been coming to our house I've been a bit conflicted.
You see, he has been bringing cheap-y easter themed toys and such. The kind of thing that is fun for a few days and then lies around the house until I find opportunity to sneak it into the trash.
The conflict comes from the fact that I really enjoy picking out the little eastery toys for his Bunnyness to bring. I just bought a box of fluffy chicks for the purpose this last Saturday.
Anyway, I decided this year to get one actual quality toy in each kid's basket and forgo the crap, except for the aforementioned chicks which I couldn't pass up. Here's what I bought, just now, thank goodness for online shopping.
Baby Girl gets these cute little mice with clothes. I was planning on these for Christmas but I didn't order in time and they were out of stock, so hurrah for mice to dress!
Tiny Boy gets this set of some of the coolest blocks I've ever seen. I love blocks, seriously love them. Next I'm going to need to get a big fat fatty fat set of all the cool archways and stuff.
The fact is I love toys. I love buying toys. I feel like I don't have enough opportunities to buy toys. My children get lots of toys from various grandparents so I always feel that buying toys myself is a waste of money.
See, if all of the grandparents just bought the toys I actually want my kids to have there would be no problem. They would still be doting on the children and I would not have a house full of toys I don't like and a head full of toys I wish were in my house.
That arrangement wouldn't really work though, because the grandparents like picking out toys too, so I guess someone has to be disappointed and it might as well be me since I am neither paying for or playing with the toys in question.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Can I have a piece of gum?

When I arrived home from book club on Tuesday Baby Girl was still awake, waiting for me to come and snuggle her. She said to me "Did you eat somesting at your mama party? (Sniff sniff) you smell like you were eating somesting" It was peanut butter m&m's she smelled on my breath.
Last night during the bed time snuggle she smelled something again.
"I smell somesting, somesting stinky, stinky like cows. Like cows and goats and an elephant... and fish. Fish are stinky because real fish are stinky when you eat them". I did not smell anything at all in her bedroom last night. I am holding out hope that she was not talking about my breath that time. I am also going to make an effort to brush my teeth before I tuck her in, just in case.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Another wedding, another flower girl dress...or 3


Look what came in the mail for me yesterday. It is a good day when there is silk in the mailbox. It's a bit lighter weight than I expected so I'm re-working my original plan for my sister of the groom dress.
My favorite thing about the fabric is the slight un-black of the lining. It mostly looks black but sometimes it seems decidedly gunshot. I am tempted to make a dress of it on it's own but it is only china silk and regardless of it's lovliness it would be a dress made of lining in the end.




Here are probably more photos than are really necessary to show the dress for my 4 year old niece. You can almost make out my original sketch to see what is should look like when it's complete.
She asked for a dress with a fat skirt so I'm doing my best to comply.
My fear with this one is that she'll want to wear it backward because there's really not much going on in front where she'll be able to see it.
I've really been taking my time on this, I'm usually a whirlwind sewer once I get going on a project. This time I've been stopping to think about the next step every time I finish something. The really odd thing about it is, in all of the time I've spent thinking instead of sewing I have not changed anything from my initial design. That is also fairly uncommon for me.
Her baby sister's dress is all cut and waiting for me to get another sewing energy burst. Looks like I'll be puttering along with it too. I'll post pictures once it actually looks like a dress.
For my own Baby Girl I decided to use the slip from her last Flower Girl venture. I'd been planning for her to wear it as a summer dress from the beginning but I really wanted to make something different for this wedding. Then I was struck with the inspiration of what to add to the existing slip to make it fabulous for another occasion and now I'm really excited about it. I'm going to make a blouse/jacket of the same dotted swiss as I'm using for the other girls. It will be pin-tucked and ruffled and have a fat red belt. I am in love with the combination of textures in the ensemble with white on white dots and stripes.
I also want a red beret for her, I haven't found a crochet pattern that I'm satisfied with but I think I can manage it on my own.

Monday, February 25, 2008

He really is tiny.

Tiny Boy had his one year check-up today. He is in the 8th percentile for weight, 10th for height and 25th for head size. I wonder if he'll be petite his whole life. He'll appreciate being called "petite," I'm sure.

One year ago today...





Tiny Boy was brand new.
I got up at 1:35 to take his picture at the exact minute he turned one like I will do every year until he grows up and moves away.
After a few cautious nibbles at his own little bear cake, he dug in and ate nearly half of it.
With some help from his sister and his cousins he opened his gifts. His favorite? The smoke stack from the little wooden train. That boy loves him a choking hazard.
Happy Birthday Tiny, you are a dream come true.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Raindrops on roses, warm wollen mittens, bright copper kettles etc...

I just had show and tell with the church ladies.
At first I had trouble thinking of favorite things to share but as I got ready to go out, ideas just kept popping into my head and I ended up with a rather long list.
I didn't share them all then, but I will now.

Tarte lip balm in "mouth off"
Aquamarine
Jewels in general
Shoes, especially tall ones and ones with something unexpected about them.
Hypnotic Poison
Ribbons tied around my head
Blogging
Sewing
Musicals
Opera
Reading
Elsa Peretti Charm Bracelets

Kiss Me Mascara
sweets
Bras that fit (Goodbye Victoria, your secrets just aren't my size)
Barbecue Chicken Pizza (which I prepared and took along to this evening's affair)
Dusty Miller
Disney's Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
Perfect Lips

And I'm done.

Monday, February 18, 2008

An annalogy

If my married Life were a child it would be in first grade this year. We've made it through infancy, toddler hood, Preschool and Kindergarten. Our marriage is potty trained and can read. Also it knows how to play nice and share.
All in all good stuff and a long way from six years ago.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Winner!

I wrote the names of the entrants to my valentine contest on bits of paper and let Baby Girl choose her favorite. I didn't tell her what the bits of paper said. She picked the letters she thought were prettiest.
The Letters she picked were A-U-N-T-I-E.
That's right, the winner is her Auntie Barefoot who listed not only the title but also the composer and lyricist.
Thanks to the other 2 contestants, Annie, my number one commenter and Slide, my number one husband.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Oh My Ganache!

I hosted my bunko group last evening.
I don't think there is anything more fitting to serve a group of women on the eve of Valentines day than Chocolate fondue.
I had strawberries, blueberries (my personal favorite to dip), kiwi, bananas, pretzels, peanut butter cookies, and disappointingly, a random fruity flavor of gummy hearts. I thought I was buying cinnamon hearts. Gummy cinnamon things are so delectable dipped in chocolate. Turns out I just imagined the package said cinnamon because that's what I wanted.
For the Fondue I whipped up a really simple ganache. Alot of really simple ganache. It is delicious. There are nearly 2 quarts of it in my refrigerator. It seems my friends have not the raging appetite for Chocolate I imagined of them.
I knew going in that 2 quarts was an absurdly large quantity but one quart made me worry that I'd run out and have heaps of fruit with nothing to dip it in. In reality we didn't quite make it through a pint.
so, If you're in the neighborhood, and hankering for a sweet, stop on by! In addition to copious amounts of ganache I have fair portions of all the dipping options left over. Bring a skewer and jump in!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I heart contest

We only got through about half the cookies at the cookie party last night so this afternoon I finished the job.

Here you see the fruits of my labor.
Most of the word cookies were inspired by a certain love song, this is where the contest comes in. The first person to guess what song inspired the cookies will win! Not these cookies because, well, they'd be stale and you wouldn't want them. I will send you some fresh lovely cookies to enjoy.
Hopefully, the husband will win and I won't have to bother with postage! But I am not going to give him any clues so it will all be fair. I am making a mental note right this minute to stop singing the song so as not to tip him off.
The names are not part of the contest, and there are 3 cookies with words having nothing to do the song in question.
If there's a word you can't decipher, I'd be glad to clarify for you, just leave me a comment with which cookie you need translated. I suppose I should have a time limit, the natural day to chose as the cut-off would be Valentines day but I'm going to throw in an extra day in honour of my wedding anniversary. So, the contest will endalong with the 6th year of my marriage on February the 15 2008.
Happy guessing!


Here are some closer photos for you.

Monday, February 11, 2008

A doll for Nicole



We have a little friend who got a new baby brother this time last year. I decided that surely the baby brother had enough presents and the big sister was the one who would most appreciate a congratulatory gift.
She had adored a wee tiny Waldorf style doll of baby girl's when she was here playing one day so I made up another one for her.
The poor itsy dolly sat nekked on my sewing table for the better part of the year. Finally, a few weeks ago I made her something to wear. Then she sat lonely and homesick on my ironing board until Friday when I decided enough was enough and I'd stop procrastinating and get that girl home!
So, I wrapped her up and delivered her at long last. She is very happy in her new home with the girl she was made for. Maybe, they love each other a little extra for all of the time they spent apart.

Valentine

I've always adored Valentines day, even when I was single.
I think Valentines are about love, not romance. If you have a romantic love, then by all means, add in some romance but let's not forget all of the other love that is out there.


I adore to make paper valentine cards. Here are the ones I've made thus far this valentine season.
I made these for the little girls I teach on Sundays. The lesson was "Heavenly Father and Jesus Love me" What a perfect lesson for valentine week. Inside they say "Heavenly Father and Jesus Love _____" Sadly, not a single one of them was at church on Sunday so I'll have to deliver them.
I suppose there's a bug circulating through the 3 year-olds in the neighborhood.


Another of my favorite Valentine activities is decorating sugar cookies. We invite a different family join us every year.
Tonight is cookie night, I baked these up last evening after the children were abed.
That's the best time for sugar cookie baking.
I've hatched some other lovely plans for the week and I hope I can see them through to fruition. Wish me luck and long nap-times!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Proof

of what a poor housekeeper I've been lately.
I lifted Baby Girl up to the sink for a hand washing and she said "why is it all nakey?" and I said "What's nakey? The Sink?"
Yes, it was the sink that she was referring to. It has been so long since I've had all of the dishes clean at one time and not even anything in the drainboard waiting to be put away, she finds it out of place and worthy of question.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Dusty Miller

Yesterday we went out and purchased my dream car.
Our old one, The Lasso, was getting run down. It has 117,000 miles on it, the check engine and break lights were on and the air conditioning went out, which was the last straw. It also would not fit 3 car seats which our family car will need to do once we have a foster child.
Dusty Miller is a Dark sparkly blue Honda Odyssey EX-L with an entertainment system.
I can open the back doors with the touch of my choice of buttons. I can listen to XM satellite radio or any of the 6 MP3 CDs in the changer all while the children watch a movie wearing wireless head phones so my listening choices will not interfere with theirs. When It's chilly out, my seat will warm my bum for me, and forget a-c, this car has "climate control" with 3 zones so neither husband or myself has to suffer for the comfort of the other. I'll never back over a bicycle in this car because it has a rear view camera, the image from which appears on a tiny screen in my rear view mirror when I put it in reverse. The husband can fart as much as he likes and the smell will not embed it's self in the leather seats like it has done in the fabric of every other car we've owned. In short, it is my dream car. Yes, I have been dreaming of owning a mini van for the past 2-3 years.
I don't think I ever expected to get my honest to goodness dream car. Even when we set out to look at Odysseys I prepared myself to settle for a different color than was my hearts desire. I have everything I've wished for in a vehicle and more.
I may need someone to pinch me. I'd try slamming my hand in the door to test the reality of it all but, alas, the doors are slam proof.

Friday, February 1, 2008

swimming in silk

My younger brother is to be wed next month. I've been planning the clothes for Baby Girl and myself.
She is to wear white and I black, both with red trim.
I decided on dotted swiss for her. It is the stuff of dreams, dotted swiss, so light and lovely. I think I've found some to purchase online so all is well on that front.
For myself, I have had some trouble deciding what I'd like. I am not a big black wearing girl. I like black. I look good in black, but I just like color so much I don't often choose it.
First I thought of a pencil skirt. That would be a good sort of a thing to have in black, and it would be fantastic in the winter time with something cashmere. Still, I was uninspired.
I spent a day or two with the ho-hum feeling toward the black, not settling upon any style that made my heart thump in anticipation. Then it happened. I remembered a dress that I own, made for me by a friend from a vintage pattern, a dress that I love and would love in black! But I couldn't find it, and I cannot take a pattern from a dress I cannot find. I could re-create the bodice easily enough, but the skirt! It's one of those 50's straight skirts that has a few pleats at the waist but somehow manages not to make your belly look bulgy. I don't know how to do that.
I began googling for patterns from 1952 (the year the lost dress' pattern was printed) and found this pattern that I think will do quite nicely even if it lacks the charming sweetheart neckline of the lost dress. A black-on-black dotted fabric is what I desire. The dots should be about 1/4 inch in diameter and spaced 2 inches apart. This I have not found but I did find this, and some other options that are not dotted.
The real find was fashionfabricsclub.com whose stock of silk leaves me with no reason to sew any other fiber ever again as long as I live, though I suppose I'll have to make an exception in the case of the dotted swiss.