A Blanket for Ezra

I took Sadie to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and as I was walking through the waiting room I heard a voice say, "Well, hi." I turned around and there was a friend from years ago.
Liz and I were pregnant at the same time and had our first babies within months of each other. She turned to her son, who was no longer a baby, and said, "This is the lady that made that made you that blanket. The one with the mountains on it." He looked at me and said, "Oh." (I think he was distracted by Sadie, who is also no longer a baby.)

I was quite surprised that they still had the blanket, but it made me feel good. So as I was working on another baby blanket, Evan asked me why I was making it and I told him about Liz. I guess I make baby blankets because that is how I show love.

When Maisy was in the hospital, baby blankets meant a lot to me. A warm reminder that even though I wasn't with her all the time, she could feel that love. So, that is why I make blankets. Because that is the tangible way I can show my love. And because there is nothing sweeter than a baby curled up sleeping under a blanket. Except maybe a toddler dragging that same blanket everywhere.

A Tricky Situation

Its all fun and games until you try to get out.

Coloring Bag Instructions

I have been meaning to make another one of these for months now and I haven't gotten around to it. But this past weekend a princess had a birthday party and Ella was invited. So this time I took pictures and wrote everything down so I could share how I made the bag.
Fabric Requirements:
1/3 - 1/2 yard main fabric, fat quarter of contrasting fabric for the bottom, scrap for the initial, 3/4 yard webbing (if they will let you, just get 22")

Supplies:
small square of fusible web, measuring tape, chopstick (for pushing out corners), scissors, sewing machine, pins, thread to match fabric

Start by measuring your coloring book or sketch pad, this one was 9" x 12". Add 1" to the width for seam allowance and 2" for ease (maybe 2 1/2" if you are going to be putting a crayon roll inside.) I ended up with 12", I'll call this A. For the height, double the measurement and add 5" (3" for seam allowance, 1" for ease.) In my case 29" (B). (Ease is the extra room to allow for easy movement.)

Cut all your fabrics:
From the main fabric, cut 1 piece measurement A by measurement B. From the contrasting fabric, cut 1 piece A by 10". From the webbing, cut two 11'' pieces. (I realized when I went back that this can be a little confusing, so, from the main fabric, cut 1 piece 12" x 29". From the contrasting fabric cut 1 piece 12" x 10".) 

With wrong side of small rectangle facing up press 12" sides down 1/2". Use the iron's hottest setting that is safe for your fabric.

Fold long body piece in half to have one piece 12" x 14 1/2". Press a crease in the bottom. Fold contrasting piece in half to have one piece 12" x 4", press fold.

Line up fabrics, contrasting on top of main fabric, with pressed fold matching and pin.

Sew 1/4" away from folded line on contrasting fabric (for me the pink polka dot.) This is called a topstitch.

Either select a font and print out an initial on a computer, or free-hand an initial on a piece of paper. I would suggest a block letter, but a block "t" just didn't look feminine enough for the fabric, so pick a font that looks good but won't be too difficult to sew around.

Trace a mirror image of the letter onto the paper side of the fusible web. If you haven't worked with this before, one side is textured and one side feels like paper, the textured side is adhesive.
Now place the textured side on the wrong side of your fabric and press according to the instructions on the package.

Cut out your letter and peel off the paper backing.

Lay the fabric flat (you only want to sew through one layer) and place your letter on the bag. Press it with a hot iron, making sure that it is firmly adhered.

With a straight stitch, sew around your letter. You could also use a blanket stitch or buttonhole stitch.

(This step is intentional. Its a french seam, so if it seems wrong, just read all the way through it before you start.) Fold the bag back in half, wrong sides together, and line up fabric, making sure the reinforced bottom matches from front to back. Cut any excess fabric, straighten the edges, and pin. Sew your seam 1/4" from edge of bag.

Clean up the edge of the seam, cutting any strings or fraying, but don't cut through or too close to the stitching. Turn the bag inside out, pushing the corners out with your chopstick.

Slide the bag over the ironing board and press seam flat, it doesn't matter which direction the seam is facing because...

now you'll press the seam flat so the bag looks like an inside out bag again. The point is to enclose one seam in the other so that there are no raw edges to fray.

Now sew your second seam 1/4" away from the edge.

Fold the top of the bag down 1/2" and then again 1" and press in both folds.

Turn right side out and place pins on outside around tip edge making sure folds stay put. Sew 7/8" from top edge all the way around.

Burn the edge of webbing, if it is nylon. If it is cotton, either fold it under, put clear finger nail polish or fray check on the edge (I think the best method is to fold it.)

Measure 3" from side of bag on both sides of the front and back and place a pin.

Line handles up with the pin, placing cut edge of webbing on inside, and re-pin in place making sure handles aren't twisted.

Sew across the top, down the side, across the bottom, and up the other side of the box created by the pins. Then sew an X inside the box to reinforce the handles.

Fill it with goodies, like crayons, coloring books, colored pencils, etc. and enjoy!

Its All in the Wording

I love words; vocabulary was one of my favorite subjects in school, I view the dictionary and thesaurus as good reads. I enjoy words that sound like what they mean, like how superfluous sounds excessive or frivolous; but I am weird that way, for me words have a life of their own. I just wish I could use them better. One of the things I like most is how my kids use their words.

Sadie has words of her own, some are made up, some are twists of another word. I love hearing her say words like mazagine or sgabetti. Sometimes I find myself using these words just so that she won't stop. The other day she said falcony when referring to our upper porch, and then corrected herself and said balcony, it made me sad.

With Ella, it isn't so much the words as the voice. As I sit here typing this, I can hear Sadie and Ella in the bathtub. I can't hear what they are saying, but I can definitely tell their voices; such a difference in pitch. It is amazing to have this petite little person look up at you and say, in a voice that sounds like Minnie Mouse, "When you go to the store without me it makes me feel like you don't want to be with me." It makes me feel like I'm talking to a psychologist, but when she talks back she suddenly becomes Hello Kitty meets Jean Piaget.

For Maisy, even though she can't talk and her vocabulary is limited to "Aaa", "Da" and "Hhh", its onomatopoeia that gets her every time. She loves pow, crash, boom, bang. And sometimes when the mood strikes her just right, she will laugh at other words, like the word stars (but its best if you say it stacatto and sign it while you say it.)

And then there is Jack. Being my only boy, he is my first experience with constant sound effects. Everything has a sound, its like listening to a radio show. But beyond just the sounds are the words, the words that only I understand. I enjoy being the only one to know what he says at times, and if that sounds selfish, well it is. He's mine and I'm savoring this time; the time when his world revolves around home and family, not school and friends. So when he looks up at me and says, "Mommy, I wanna hold chew." and then I pick him up and he whispers, "I wub you." I love words more than ever before.

A Little Outing

As I was downloading photos from the camera, I came across some of a University gymnastics meet Evan, Sadie, and Ella went to a couple of weeks ago.
As I was looking at the pictures as they flashed on the screen, I couldn't resist tracking down another photo.

Yes, that's Evan. A bit more hair, but just as cute. He might be as strong now, as he's training for a triathlon, although I know he held that pose for quite a while.

And the girls, who stood in line for forty-five minutes to get the gymnasts autographs.

Another Little Let Down

Sadie spent the better part of Saturday morning doing odd jobs for exorbitant rates. Get Jack cereal - $2. Pick-up toys in the hallway - $3. But I was hoping for the priceless outcome of the desired doll. So we reached the afternoon and she was about $5 short, so I told her I would make up the difference for a kiss and a smile and we went to the store.

However, the doll she wanted wasn't there. There was a different doll, with different hair color, different eye color, and different clothes, and she was fine, just different. So we took her and started towards the front of the store to pay, when Sadie said, "I don't like anything about this doll. I wanted brown hair, and brown eyes and I don't like her clothes. I wanted the other doll." So she went back on the shelf and because I can't haul four kids all over town to find the right doll, we will be back at another store on Monday just hoping that Alexis (she has already named her) is there waiting for us to take her home.

I'm glad that she admitted that this wasn't the doll for her. I;m glad that she is holding out for the doll of her dreams. I think she is wise to wait for the one she wants. I was that girl when I was little. I was the girl that would hold on to her money the whole shopping trip, just waiting for the perfect treasure.

One time, when I was about Sadie's age, we went to the San Jose Flea Market and I had ten dollars. The first aisle we went down I saw a miniature wicker chair (it was the eighties) and I really liked it. But what if I liked something else better? What if just around the corner was a tea set with pagodas hand painted on it? Or a gold necklace with a tiny heart charm? So I waited and when we went back the chair was gone. I was sad that day, but it was okay, it was a fun day and for me it has always been more about the journey than the destination.

Little Let-Downs

Ever since October, Sadie has been saving her money for something she really wants. Ideas have come and gone, most recently she wanted Kayak Joe from REI, but then she decided on a doll. It was a doll that her sister and her cousin have and it seemed like a good idea. Today we talked about it, counted her money (I was surprised she had 4 five dollar bills, 5 one dollar bills, and eight quarters), looked online and realized she could get the doll at a store by us. So, this evening we took a bike ride to get some groceries and smoothies and Sadie brought along her money to see if she could convince us to go get the doll.

Well, the bike trailer was full of kids and groceries, dinner needed to be fixed, and Jack and Maisy were losing patience with all the stopping. So, we agreed that after dinner, when the little ones were in bed, we would drive back to the store and get the doll. And I'm not sure Sadie has ever been more helpful. Kids in bed, table cleared, I told her to run up and get her shoes while I loaded the dishwasher. Then came the tears. Her money had been in her back pocket and now all that was left were the ones and quarters. Evan re-rode the path we took, I searched the house, and Sadie and Ella looked in the backyard. Sadie said half-a-dozen prayers, I called the stores we had stopped at earlier, but no money.

She went to bed crying and I feel awful, but what do I do? Seriously, help me. Do I give her the money at the risk of always having to replace lost money? Do I hide $20 somewhere and pretend we found it? Or do I come up with a bunch of chores for her to quickly earn the money? I feel bad but I also realize that there are little disappointments that come up in life. Sometimes things don't work out like we planned. I just wasn't prepared to see that kind of disappointment all over sweet Sadie's face.

Hidden Surprises

Trimming back the dead foliage and raking up the leaves in my perennial beds, I was excited to find some first signs of Spring.
And a few hidden friends.

Then those little birdies made me wonder about my little birdies,

and what they were up to.

Which led to a bit of this...

And that.

I'll tackle the drip line another day, when swings aren't the priority. Another reason I love Spring.

My luthier

Evan sold his first commissioned guitar.
I think it was a bittersweet experience.

He has already received praises for its sound quality.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Have I mentioned I'm glad that Spring is here and how much I love the Spring?
I just want to take advantage of every day.

Evan and I have a deal that we can't complain about the weather because everyone is experiencing the same weather and complaining about it isn't going to change anything. But we really aren't Winter people.

So we have been outside and loving it. And I do like watching the kids fly kites, even if it means spending more time getting the kites out of the tree than actually flying the kites.

It still is a pleasure to watch their excitement at making the kite fly.

One more reason I love the Spring.