Bursting!

I can't believe how much Evelyn has really taken to sewing! She has really done so nicely and is a much better sew-er than I was at her age. She drew 2 pictures and wanted to embroider them, so I cut out two pieces of muslin for her, helped her trace her pictures, showed her a few stitches and she just took off! I'm just bursting with pride!

She made the girl and cat one first, then the next day, she did the boy and dog one. Both were finished in a couple of hours. I told her we'd get frames and hang them up and she couldn't wait for me to frame them, reminding me several times. They'll get hung up in her room. I love them!

Meltdown

We had a warm day the other day, almost like a preview of Spring. It has melted all the remaining snow we had and flooded all the streams and creeks which has turned them into raging rivers. We had to go out to the post office yesterday and the road follows a small river nearly the whole 8 miles there. If I could, I would have parked on the side of the road and just watched. I love when the rivers get swollen and water rushes over rocks and tree trunks and then when it recedes, I love to see where the water had been, to see the grass folded down and the soil eroded in new locations.

I used to dream of having a house near a creek, to be able to walk barefooted in the cool waters, feeling the rocks beneath my toes. It seems like when I was a kid, I was always drawn to the creeks and spent hours there, sometimes reading a book on a fallen log across the water, sometimes walking the creek beds searching for tadpoles, sometimes imagining myself as a pirate searching for treasure.

Our home now is nowhere near a creek, but when there is heavy rain, the water flows from somewhere inside the mountain we live on and pops out in a spring on the other side of our property. We walk the kids over there and watch and try to figure out where the water comes from. It streams down, making it's way under the secondary driveway all the way over to the main drive and finally down to the street. When conditions are right, meaning when I am in a permissive mood and it's not too cold, the kids are allowed to run and slip and slide in the rushing stream by the main drive. It's all grass there and they can get themselves soaked and laugh and play until they are tired and pooped.

I had a rough day today. I had my own meltdown and I snapped at the kids for little things. I had a headache above my right eye and every scream from the kids made it throb. Peter wouldn't nap today, so there was no 4-hour "break" from constantly keeping an eye on Peter and getting him out of the dog food, the litterbox, the markers, the box of papers in the office, the newspaper, the dog food again... I had to make meals with him underfoot and he likes to get between me and the counter and push me away to get my attention onto him. If I ignore him, he takes a chomp out of my inner thigh- yow!

The girls were constantly bickering over the play kitchen and I was almost sorry I made it for them. Sylvia comes crying because Gretchen snatched away a pot; Gretchen comes crying because Evelyn called her a name; Evelyn comes crying because Gretchen is singing too loud; Gretchen comes crying because Evelyn told her to "shut up"; Sylvia comes crying because Evelyn and Gretchen won't play with her; and on and on it goes. It's days like these that make me wish I put them into public school.

I got snippy with Andrew for getting snippy with the kids which made him snippy with me and that makes me get snippier. I even started feeling jealous of the dog with all the attention he was giving her and not to me!! ugh! I think it's safe to say we need to get out of the house and do something different for a day, to recharge our batteries and change our environment. Too much of being home all the time without a change of scenery. Maybe we'll try to go somewhere in a couple of days, I'll pack a lunch and we can take a drive with the kids.

Tomorrow is a new day.
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Makeover!

A while back, on one of the blogs I like to read, she posted about taking a wooden Ikea end table and turning it into a little kitchen for her kiddies. It was inspiring, really. She took this little table and transformed it into a nifty play area-- cutting out a hole to slip a bowl into for a sink, painting rings for the stove area, a curtain for the front to hold dishes and pots. It's been a while since I read that post, so I can't remember all the details, but it stuck in my head. I'd been on the look-out for a little table like that on my jaunts to the thrift shops and yard sales, but had no luck. Of course, I am specifically looking for something and it is nowhere to be found!

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We had a plastic kitchen, but it was big and awkward and frankly, I didn't really care for it. It was down in the basement in the playroom and it was more trouble that it was worth. We sold it at a yard sale over the summer and I was glad to see it go, along with all the cheap plastic food bits as well.

In our effort to clean and declutter the house this year, we are moving stuff around, sorting through odds and ends, and downsizing on pieces of furniture.

This, used to house my sewing machine and my fabrics were in the cupboards beneath. It was getting to be an eyesore, plus the kids never left the sewing machine alone, always fiddling with the thread or flipping the switches or yanking on the cord. I was going to move it downstairs and add it to the sell pile, when it hit me-- this could be the kitchen for the kids!!


It's an old dry sink, not an antique. I could never cut up a perfectly good antique, but this is maybe 70's or 80's, made from pine, and has a cheap, fiber-board back. Nothing to cry over if I cut into it. After getting the go-ahead from Andrew, I spent the day yesterday transforming it into a kitchen for the kids.

Ta-dah!

Oh my! The kids LOVE it! They couldn't wait to move in and make it their own!

I knocked off the front part of the dry sink area, cut a hole in the top for a stainless steel bowl I never use for the sink, then painted rings for the stove area. 2 wooden knobs painted red and blue for the water and later, I'll make a faucet from pipes and add that.


Down below, I added thumbtacks on the back of one door for their utensils, and 2 screw hooks on the other door. I'll replace the thumbtacks with screw hooks later, we're afraid the kids may pull it out and Peter might put it in his mouth or someone steps on it. For now, it's pretty secure, so I'll just keep my eye on it.

My very own Vanna!

The kids have played with this non-stop since I finished it and I am so glad for the inspiration from a fellow blogger. How nice to re-purpose something that would have otherwise been taking up space. It's also the kind of toy that I don't mind people seeing, it looks like a piece of furniture and it doesn't stand out like a purple, plastic kitchen would have.

Grandma gave Sylvia and Gretchen some kitchen play things for their birthdays: A wooden and fabric cupcake making set, and a stainless steel pots, pans and utensils set (all from Target). The girls got a Christmas tin tea set from Santa that includes the tray, 4 tea cups, saucers, plates and a tea pot. I saw one on clearance from Walmart exactly like the one we have from Target, but with a circus design instead, and I would have gotten it if we didn't already have this one.

I don't want any more plastic food or plastic dishes. They're cheap and the dog thinks they're chew toys for her. I'll be making felt foods to add to their cupboard. There are lots of food patterns on the internet, so I'll be getting ideas from there. A few ideas: eggs made with white felt and a yellow felt circle in the middle; light tan felt bread slices; red circles for tomatoes; yellow squares for cheese; pink squares or circles for ham and bologna.... oh! the possibilities are endless!!

Maybe this post could inspire you! :o)

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Can't Live Without

I have a Facebook page and with it, lots of old schoolmates as friends. Many of those friends post different things-- little trivia, weather announcements, or mundane bits about what they ate for lunch or where they are headed to for the day or critiques of certain players on sports teams (snore). Every now and then, someone will pose a question and people respond with answers, like one friend asked what kind of cheese you liked; someone else asked what your favorite color was; but the one that cracked me up was: what you cannot live without (cannot be a person).

You'd think, if someone asked you that, you'd come up with things that if you didn't have, you'd die. Would you know, the majority of people said "coffee"? Please. Like you'd really diiiiiiiiiiiiiieeee if you didn't have your coffee. I guess I'm just on a different wavelength than some of the people that answered that question. I don't have lots of money, or a cushy job or live in an environment where I push a button and things magically appear. I am almost painfully aware of how delicate life can be, how one wrong move can bring things crashing down upon my head. How the wrong thing done in the garden can ruin rows and rows of corn, thus ruining months of planning and back-breaking work of tilling and planting. How not planning ahead and preserving food from the garden can leave us with empty bellies in the middle of winter. How not having proper working chainsaws can leave us shorthanded with firewood on a cold, blustery day.

If you asked me what I cannot live without, my answer would most certainly not be "coffee". First thing off the top of my head, was my glasses and my hearing aid. When I wake in the morning, my vision is all blurry until I pop my "eyes" on, and the kid that tries to talk with me before I have my hearing aid on will get a "wait a minute" until I get my "ears" in. Second thing would be food and water. That's a no brainer. Third would be shelter, fourth would be wood for either heat or cooking.

Maybe it was supposed to be a silly question, to see what people just have to have, but for me, we don't live that way. We have long lived without the lifestyle of being able to buy what we want when we want; we fix before we replace; re-purpose before discard; live without if we cannot afford it. Do we suffer? No. We have a good life. A good life. One I would not trade for anything. And definitely not for a cup of coffee.

The Big 6

On Sunday, we celebrated Gretchen's sixth birthday! She had been anticipating this birthday since, oh, last fall and counted down the months, weeks and days! The last few days have been the hardest for her, as every morning she woke up asking, "Is it my birthday yet?" I think it is made harder when Sylvia has her birthday only 10 days earlier, and Gretchen sees the gifts, the cake, the special birthday menu that Sylvia gets and it only makes her impatient for her own special day.

Finally, the day arrived! The Big 6!

We celebrate birthdays with special menus, planned by the birthday girl/boy, and so Gretchen requested pancakes for breakfast; sandwiches and mac and cheese for lunch;

meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas and chocolate cake with strawberry frosting for dinner.

Very yummy meals!

After blowing out the candles.

She is about to lose her first tooth, it's all loose and wiggly, and a permanent tooth is already emerging and pushing it out, but she won't let me pull the loose tooth. Trying to even get my fingers on her tooth is a struggle with her giggling and trying to be brave about it. I managed to grab it once, but with her squirming, I didn't get a good grip, and it was enough for her. Maybe tomorrow...

This is a kid that doesn't adapt to changes well, and losing a tooth is a big change for her. She gets upset when she outgrows a shirt or a skirt and throws a hissy fit when I pass it on to Sylvia. She likes to sit in the same chair at the table and when guests come for dinner and 'mess' up the seating order, she pouts and glares at the person sitting in her chair. When I worked at the consignment store and our home routine went all kablooey, she started to pull her hair out in clumps and I would find hair all over the car, the bed, the couch. It took a long time for her hair to look nice again, and I try to give her a lot of notice when we do something new or different. She is a great hostess, though, and loves to set the table with napkins and help me carry drinks and condiments to the table.

She likes to do things her way and will let me know when she is ready for something. It's hard to get her to do her school lessons sometimes and she will act silly and talk goofy instead of focusing on her reading or writing. I have to remind myself to be patient with her when she gets in her moods and I take full advantage of the moments when she is willing to cooperate with me. I don't know who she takes after more, me or Andrew. She is just her own individual and we love her for it.

Happy Birthday my lovely Gretchen.
May we celebrate many many more!

Random Winter Thoughts

Heading out today to the Library, I was pleased to see that the snow is finally starting to melt. I'm not tired of the cold, but I am tired of looking at the same, dirty snow from before Christmas. The snow by the road is yucky and brown and the snow in the yard is dotted with chicken, dog and cat droppings. No wonder the kids don't want to play in the snow!

The weather has warmed up slightly and I had the windows open to air out the house! It got up to the 50s the other day and my mom thought I was nuts! I thought it was nice out there and it was so lovely to smell the fresh air coursing through the house. It's funny how after several weeks of 20-degree weather, 50 can seem so warm!

One of my hens is going broody. I don't like to interrupt their laying process so I wait until after they get out of the coop to gather eggs, but every time I check, the same hen is still sitting on her and the others' eggs. After awhile, I reach under and collect the eggs. It's too soon to let her sit and try to hatch eggs, but maybe sometime in February, I'll let her sit on them. I figure by March, any chicks hatched will be alright with mama if it gets chilly, but it shouldn't get as cold as it has been by then-- knock on wood. If she is successful, she'll save me money on buying more chicks.

Garden dreaming is on the brain these days. Andrew and I are determined to do better in the garden this year, so we are planning and thinking and talking. I'll be making a small greenhouse for my seeds to start in, and we are coming up with ideas on how to build it and where to put it. Meant to get it in before the snow but.... oh well. It'll get started when the snow is completely melted.

Tax-time is coming. ugh. 2009 is the first year in a while where Andrew has worked the whole year at one job. It won't be the biggest, but it should be something, better than last years refund, I hope. The first thing we'll get, if possible, will be a new chainsaw for Andrew. He really needs a new one, as the old one keeps crapping out and parts keep getting replaced. I watch him get so frustrated with the old one and because of all the trouble it gives him, and we really didn't prepare enough wood for the winter. We are being stingy with the wood stove and if it's possible to be warm by adding a sweater instead of starting a fire, that's what we do. There's a local chainsaw shop that gives credit for trade-ins so maybe that will cut down on the price a little bit.

I'm dreaming of cherries. I know it's way too soon for cherries, but I am down to my very last jar of cherry almond jam and I am savoring every bit. On a whim, I added almond extract to my last batch of cherry jam and it has turned into something the whole family cannot get enough of! I only had 4 pints of it so we tried our hardest to make it last. This coming cherry season, I'll be sure to make several batches of cherry almond jam!

Evelyn got a sewing kit from an auntie for Christmas and she has just blown us away at the stuff she is creating! I think she has my knack for coming up with things without a pattern. The kit came with several pre-cut felt pieces to sew together and stuff to make a cat, dog and elephant and some fabric to sew into a pouch to hold it all. She made the stuffed cat and the pouch, then raided my fabric scraps and started making her own designs-- a purse with a latch and a pocket on the front; a little stuffed flashlight with a button for the on/off switch; little purses for her sisters.... She now talks about making a basket and after telling me how she is going to do it, I am impressed with her thought processes. If she keeps this up, I'll give her my old sewing machine whenever I get myself a new one. Hmmm... a chainsaw for Andrew and a sewing machine for me??? Oh please let this be a nice tax year for us!

Sylvia has mastered the computer and now begs to play computer games every time I get on here. She is pestering me now, and I need to get off anyway, so til next time!

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Sylvia's Birthday Gift

I meant to make this for Sylvia for her Christmas gift, but I never found the time to make it. Since her birthday is the first week of January, I just bumped it to her birthday gift. I'd seen a version of this, commercially made, at a shop a couple of years ago and it stuck in my head and I knew I could make it better. It simmered on the back-burners of my mind for while, my mental pattern-maker tweaking and improving this and that, until I finally came up with this. No pattern, no measurements, all made in one night in 2 hours.

I used what fabric I had on hand. This was from a bolt of fabric my mom had that was in her house when it caught on fire, so there is discoloration on the fabric that will not wash out, probably from the smoke and soot. Ok for little personal projects and the kids didn't notice the stain. Knowing my kids, it'll get dirty on the outside, so I'm fine with it.

Open the top and bottom flaps...



...open the side flaps and ta-da!! A felt board with felt shapes to make whatever scene you wish to make!

I already see where I can make improvements-- I sewed two pockets on the bottom flap to hold extra felt pieces and the girls kind of struggle to get pieces out. Next time, I'll make it a folding flap that folds up and then when you flip it over to close, the pieces won't fall out. I know I'll make another one for someone else, and Evelyn and Gretchen are each asking for one of their own.


It's way better than that one I saw.. that one was just a felt-covered board and the felt shapes were in a zippy bag. This version is nice that they can save the picture, if they wanted, by closing the flaps and not worrying about losing the felt pieces. I also thought that I would add a handle to make it portable, but this is not something I want my kids to take along in the car, or else I'd find felt pieces here and there. I feel better about it being a home toy and I can keep an eye on it when they play with it and put it safely away out of reach of Peter's grasp.

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Andrew thinks I could sell some of these... Would anyone be interested in buying one, if I made extra to sell? Of course I would use new fabric and I'm not sure how much I'd sell it for, I need to research online to see if there is anything like this out there and what the average price is. Let me know if you'd be interested and if I get enough interest, I'll consider making a few extra.

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