luckypennymake

Grandpa Day

Last week I posted this on facebook: Love it when Grandpa calls up and asks if I want to drop Ezra off to play while Junah's at school. Thanks Dad!

But I think I kind of gave the wrong impression.  Because it wasn't a one off, out of the blue call.  It was that we hadn't planned for Ezra to go over, so having my dad call that morning and being able to run Ezra right over was a pleasant surprise.  

But my dad doesn't usually call in the morning to see if I want to bring one of the kids over because we've already worked out when the kids can come over.  Because he calls the night before, or a few days before.  He sets it up in advance, which is so incredibly nice for a planner like me.  

Grandpa day includes lots of outside time in the garden (for some reason I can't locate any of the pictures my dad has sent me of Junah playing around).

You see, he has each of my kids over for a "Grandpa Day" (as Junah dubbed it) every week (baring debilitating sickness, which we've seen a bit of this year).  Wednesday is usually Ezra's "Grandpa Day" while Junah has Friday.  It all started three years ago, when Junah was nearly two and I was newly pregnant with Ezra.  For a few months Junah was going over once a week, then that grew to twice a week and stayed that way until Ezra dropped his morning nap and was ready for his own Grandpa Day.

And you know, it is so wonderful for me.  I look forward to my breaks, my mornings alone if Junah is at school and Ezra is at my dad's.  I think of it as something my dad does for me.  But it is also something he does for them.  And, I think, for himself.  For love. 

Thank you, Dad.   Thank you, Grandpa.

Best & Worst Case Scenario Resolutions

So I have my failed resolutions.  But after failing the very first day of the New Year, I managed to post as resolved for a couple of weeks.  Until last week.  Wednesday morning we woke to the sound of a croupy cough.  This is the fourth time Junah has had croup (which for her means a croup cough followed a few days later by a terrible cold).  

She is still sick, my poor girlie, now with a painful cough and an earache.  And so, I've come up with a new plan for New Year's Resolutions, even though I don't really do resolutions (I'm just trying to keep myself to some sort of posting regimen).  My new idea is for best and worst case scenario resolutions.  You know, make your resolution and then give yourself an out.  A modified resolution, a worst case resolution.  Something that keeps you going rather than making you feel like you've failed completely so you might as well give up altogether.

My best-case scenario resolution is still the same: to post every weekday.  And my new, worst-case scenario resolution?  To post at least once a week.  So now when a kid gets really sick in the same week that we go out of town, I can give myself a blog breather without feeling like a total failure and throwing in the towel for a few months.  

Girlie's First Nightgown

Last May I posted about making a new green shirt to replace Junah's favorite item of clothing.  Ever since I've been meaning to dig out the pattern I drafted to make another, bigger version, as the second green shirt gets quite a bit of wear (and is already a bit small).  I was going to do just that during my first sewing session at my new sewing station, but realized I didn't have any of the ribbing for it.  So instead I pulled out the pattern and did something else I've been meaning to do.  Made the girl a nightgown.  Her first. 

I intended to give it to her for her (fifth!) birthday next month, but this past weekend she mentioned a nightgown and I said, "Well, you know what I made you..."

The fabric was some knit I had on hand (I think it was intended for PJs for Ezra).  It's a bit heavier than t-shirt weight knit, but perfect for this.  

She wasn't home when I made this, so I enlarged the "green shirt pattern" by guesstimating (lengthening it quite a bit, obviously) and widened and shortened the sleeves.  The neckhole turned out too big, so I did a little fudging with the ruffled neckline, turning it into a casing into which i threaded some cord elastic.  

This girl loves ruffles, and this momma loves her serger, so all of the edges are lettuce edges.  For some reason I ruffled a strip of fabric and applied it to the bottom, rather than just ruffling the bottom edge.  I only realized later that I added unnecessary steps by doing so.  Either way this was a really quick project and she says she would like two (although more than two seems like a silly idea to her) so hopefully she will get another for her birthday.  The sleeve length seems a little weird to her (not short and not long) so I might alter those a bit.  

I'm a bit thrilled with this project.  Nightgowns were such a staple of my wardrobe growing up; it is hard for me to believe she's almost five and this dress & skirt loving girl is just getting her first one.  She did wear it the first night, but last night she chose "normal" pjs.  She is such a routine oriented child, that I'm wondering if I left the nightgown too late, if now the idea of a "dress" for bed is just too far out there for her.  The next one might have to be pink or green (or both) for her to be truly into it.  But, if she decides she's not into nightgowns, and I still have the nightgown making bug, well, it's been a long time since I've had one...

Random Thoughts (Weekly?)

I used to have a blog with my cousin, Sara, called Just Sit Back and Knit.  I just got sucked into reading old posts there while trying to find one specific post.  I am having so much fun revisiting those times, especially with my random thoughts weekly posts.  I'm going to try those again, but maybe not weekly.

---

If I do "Random Thoughts Weekly" most weeks will be the same I'm afraid; lamenting my lack of sleep could be the entire list.

---

The thoughts of a well-rested person are much more varied and interesting than the thoughts of a sleep-deprived person.

---

I've been sleep-deprived for nearly five years.

---

I used to count the last few months of my pregnancy with Junah into my sleep deprivation count.  I've stopped that.  The sleep deprivation of the childless pregnant woman is nothing to the sleep deprivation I've experienced since Junah's birth.

---

I miss the way I used to write my blog posts. Now I'm trying to be a "Craft Blogger" and a "Mom Blogger" rather than Barbara, a blogger.  

---

I just scared my kids by totally cracking up while reading this (from this blog post):  "...let me tell you a little story about my bridal shower. I cried when I opened ever single card, from card 1 to card X, I kid you not. Everyone thought that it was just because I am an overly-emotional ninny and started making bets about when I would lose it on my wedding day (the general consensus was at the beginning of the rehearsal the night before). And, for a tangent on this tangent--I was amazingly calm, cool and collected throughout my wedding day and the day prior. The real reason I lost it over and over at my bridal shower was nervous-ninny-ness. I was so nervous (they're all staring at me! they've all stopped talking amongst themselves like good guests and they're staring right at me!) that I cried while reading the first card and immediately realized that I would have to cry at each and every subsequent card or else I would hurt someone's feelings."

---

I don't think I have as many random thoughts anymore.  I have fixed thoughts.  What to make for dinner.  Do laundry or knit?  Remember to pack Junah's lunch/buy milk/clean out fridge.  

---

I want to try eating more vegetables & protein and less of the carby food I always turn to (like bread & pasta).  If I do attempt this I am considering a potato a vegetable, NOT a carb.  I can do life with less pasta, even less bread, but fewer potatoes, no.

---

These are the of the best things I've ever added to my kids' craft supplies.  

---

I wondered once (pre-kids) why more people don't use cloth diapers.  Now I have two kids and I know.  One of my personal failures: the switch to disposables.  

---

In my attempts to be an awesome "Mom/Craft Blogger" I try not to post pictures that show the disposables Ezra wears because I'm still embarrassed about the switch.

---

I have very strong political views, which I don't think is readily apparent from my blog.  Most days I'm listening to news programs and political podcasts all day long on my iphone.  

---

In honor of the holiday, and the man himself, I would just like to say, thank you Dr. King.

---

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

~*~ this moment ~*~

A single picture of a single moment that I wish to always remember.  Inspired by soulemama.

Please feel free to link to your moment in the comments...I would love to see them.

 

Dreaming of Order in a Chaotic House

I've lately been dreaming about organization.  I'm not a naturally organized person, but I've getting a bit of an organizational bug.  Or I'm just having too much fun on pinterest admiring the organization skills of others.

Source: goodhousekeeping.com via Barbara on Pinterest

 

I want to be the type of person who has beautiful craft spaces like the one above, rather than the type of person who has a cupboard stuffed full shoeboxes (also stuffed full of various and sundry items) threatening to slide out everytime I open the door.  

Fortunately in the midst of my dreaming, in the midst of my chaos, I received an email from my sister with a link to Tales of a Music Mama's Beauty and the Mess post.  Because yes.  Yes, yes, (oh, especially about the wooden toys versus plastic toys).  It helped me to remember this post I wrote about my own mess.  

I will continue to drool over beautifully organized spaces.  I will continue to dream about getting my house just so.  I may even organize a beautiful space for myself.  But, hopefully, I'll also feel a little less shame upon opening my flatware drawer and noting (and further ignoring) all the crumbs in with the forks.  And I'll enjoy the things I do create: a sweater, a blog post, a meal; and feel a little more grateful for the chaos that helped me do it.

Yarn Along

I'm joining Ginny's yarn along this week, visit her post for links to more.  

I didn't knit much in the six months or so before Christmas, but have since been knitting rather furiously.  When I don't knit I forget how much I love it.  How I try to eek out time for just a row or a round, how satifying it can be to find a little break in a busy day by working a few stitches.

Saturday I cast on for Elizabeth Smith's Mud Season and oh, what sweet satisfaction can be found in bulky yarn.  I've knit the body and add the neck ribbing, so just the short sleeves are left.  The color isn't one I would normally choose for myself, but I found it at a ridiculously low sale price and couldn't pass up a sweater's worth of yarn just because of the color.  And now I'm so glad I got it.  My usual color choices are brown, black, or some sort of blue.  Leave it to knitting to expand my horizons.  (I'm raveling this sweater here).

In recent years I've found it difficult to actually read a book; if I do it has to be something that completely absorbs me. Those books are rare, I've found.  Instead I listen.  I'm currently on a Jane Austen kick, and right now have Persuasion (narrated by Nadia May via Audible) on my iPhone.  I read all of Austen's books in my late teens/early twenties and have returned to them again and again since.  What are you reading(or listening to)/knitting lately?  Also, please feel free to leave a link to your yarn along post!

Quilter's Design Table Love

We live in a 920 square foot two-bedroom house.  And since Junah moved into her own room three years ago, I've found maintaining a sewing space difficult.  Until now.  My wonderful parents gave me a fantastic sewing station for Christmas.

It is the Sew Essentials Quilter's Design Table available from Joann's (on sale for $134 right now!).  And I must say, I just love it.  

Yes, it wasn't the easiest thing to put together, but I did manage to do it by myself in a couple of hours over two days.  And contrary to some of the reviews I've read, it seems very sturdy.  Yes, the cupboard and drawer could be deeper, but hey, it has a cupboard and drawer!  And it collapses to a very narrow 16" meaning I can wheel it from room to room (it's on casters) if I need to.

And my serger is just a pivot away from my sewing machine, yippee!  Now just to remember to move my foot from one pedal to the other after I pivot...

As you can see it fits snugly in the corner of our bedroom (that's the edge of the bed there on the left) and I can set up my long ironing board close to hand or use my table top one at the edge of the table.  And I love the depth when the back edge is folded up completely; plenty of room for keeping all parts of my project close at hand.

With Ezra's help, a nail and a few screws I added storage for my rulers and thread rack.  Awesome.  

The top of it has a 1" grid which I really want to paint over.  For one thing I didn't manage to get the grid from the front half of the table to line up properly with the grid on the back half (a complaint I've read in reviews) and I use my big cutting mat when I need a grid.  But, the major reason is that I use transparent gridded pattern paper.  So I nearly went cross-eyed yesterday trying to draft a pattern.  Although I could see the grid being really handy if I wasn't using paper with a grid.  Hmmm.  Perhaps time for some swedish tracing paper*?

* Don't know what swedish tracing paper is?  You can read about it at NearSea Naturals.

And, yes, thanks to my Amazon Mom account two rolls of paper are already on their way to me.  Guess I'll hold off on the painting for now.

Ezra's Dollhouse

It was back in the middle of October when I declared our plans for giving both kids dollhouses for Christmas.  At that point we had ordered Junah's dollhouse and I set right to work painting the furniture for Ezra's.  Oh, I am so glad I did that early painting, because very soon after sick season settled into our house in a big way (still ongoing, in fact) and most (if not all, really my memory is a bit hazy) dollhouse projecting was put off for about six weeks.  

And then it was Junah's dollhouse that occupied our time (a post about that another time) and I didn't pull Ezra's dollhouse out until the week before Christmas; days before probably (still period). 

At that point I was thinking I would just give it a good cleaning, but I managed to do a bit with fabric (the roof panels are covered with some) and a bit more with paint.  And I love, love the result.

It lives on our hearth (right in front of a our blocks, obviously we don't use the fireplace!) And while I love the green doors I'm thinking about removing them.  My original plan was to make it more open (like the model currently for sale) by removing some of the back panel, because there just doesn't seem to be enough access to the interior.  We'll see if I get to that in the future!

~*~ this moment ~*~

A single picture of a single moment that I wish to always remember.  Inspired by soulemama.

Please feel free to link to your moment in the comments...I would love to see them.