My Other Baby

My sewing machine isn't really my other baby anymore because my real baby makes it too hard to get to her but here is the semi-interesting story of how I found her. I will keep it short, I promise.

I used to sew in high school a little bit. I think I made a couple of shirts and a dress all without patterns. The dress was a flop so I took it to a little Asian seamstress to see if she could make the bottom into pants. I was envisioning some hip bell bottoms but what I got was MC Hammer pants. The seamstress wanted to make some more adjustments and told me to come back in couple of days. But I never went back. Which of course now I know was the wrong thing to do but back then I was in high school, a tad embarrassed, and spending my own money.

Then when I was first pregnant I borrowed my mom's sewing machine and made a quilt for Sylvia. I also used it for another quilt top and few other miscellaneous things. Eventually my mom wanted it back.

So there was a couple of years that I didn't have a machine. I missed it a little bit, but not too much. Then one day some of Gus' cloth diapers started needing minor repair. I could either fix them or buy some new ones. I needed a machine to fix them but didn't want to spend a whole lot of money in case I rarely used it. So to the Goodwill I went. And wouldn't you know, on my very first try, look what I found.



A 1960's blue Singer made in Great Britain and nearly all metal. All for only $15. It was fate, because you see, blue is my favorite color.

Phew, that was a little longer than I intended.

Just for fun, here's my serger. The much less attractive machine in my basement. And one of these days, when Millie starts going to bed earlier, I might get more use out of it.

Sweet Dreams

Gus was asleep in a normal position when I left his and Sylvia's room the first time. When I came back to turn the lights out (Sylvia stays up reading), this is how I found him. I don't know what happened!

My Little Bean Eater

Millie's new favorite food is the pinto bean! She likes noodles too, especially cheesy ones. And I can usually get her to take a couple bites of any of the green jarred baby foods. She refuses to sit in her high chair and can squeeze her way out even if she's tightly buckled in. That's what she's doing in the picture (even the beans couldn't keep her in her seat).

Boop Boop a Doop

I was trying to get a good picture of Millie in her frog towel. You know, for posterity. Rex said this is Sylvia's imitation of Betty Boop.

I always feel like it is such a treat to bring home fresh flowers. It adds a little glamor to the kitchen.



And glamor is just what this kitchen needs when a slight head turn away you will find this on the counter.



You guessed it, I'm making yogurt with a heating pad in my cooler.

Honk, Honk!

Whew! These things are pretty hard to steer.

Summer Harvest

We've had a couple of blueberry picking sessions lately. I can pick about 5 quarts in an hour and 15 minutes. At $4 a pint for organic on sale, that's quite a savings! I definitely owe my sister-in-law a dinner or two. When ya coming over Kelly?

Rolly Pollie's

Our friends have opened up a Rolly Pollie's. We went to visit over the weekend and had a blast.

There is a huge pit full of foam blocks. You can jump in just like you were jumping into a pool. It's even better than a pool because belly flops do not hurt. Gus loved it.




Gus also loved this thing. Really he loved everything about the place and he keeps asking when we can go back.




This was the best picture I got of Sylvia. In fact, this is what most of my pictures look like...a kid just barely in the screen. I had a hard time catching them, they were moving so fast.



Here's Millie in the foam pit.



And did I mention that all the equipment is adult-proof? The next time we go I'll remember NOT to wear a skirt.'

Shopping!

I stopped in an antique shop recently. I rarely have time to browse and when I do I hardly ever find anything worthwhile (in my price range at least!). But this past weekend must have been special. Here are my favorite two things I picked up.

First up is a chicken dish. As I was about to pay, my sister-in-law saw it and said that she and both her sisters had one. It must be a family thing.



Number two is a cast iron baking form. It's a little rusty but it was only $5. It's nothing a little steel wool can't fix.

Watermelon!

Watermelon is not one of my favorite fruits. But what is summer without it?

In the Woods Again

We went back to the woods this past weekend. We're working on setting up a permanent campsite. Well, Rex is doing most (all) of the work. If you look very closely, you may be able to see the rock outline that he's set up. He's also made a fire pit, blown away the leaves and whacked away the weeds. It's pretty rocky ground, so he's spent a lot of time moving rocks around.

Dirty Mouths

Gus is still really into trains. But when Rex took him to visit a local station, only to find that all the trains were elsewhere, they went on to the airport instead. Now there is lots of talk of flying on airplanes, yellow airplanes being his favorite, the big ones being too loud, and going to talk to cousins (one of Rex's cousins runs an airport).

One of his funniest sayings of late is his pronunciation of airport. When Gus says it, it comes out "air poop".



On the same day we were really getting a kick out of enticing Gus to say airport Sylvia had her own humorous language error. We were sitting at dinner and she turned to the map (hey, I'm a homeschooler) and said, "I know where As*ylvannia is.". I thought she was thinking of Pennsylvania and told her as much. She said, "No. I'm talking about As*ylvannia." She then proceeded to point to Alaska. I have no idea where she came up with that one.

Gettin' Geo

We've got the pattern blocks out. Sylvia's a lot more interested in them then she has been in the past.





The middle one above is mine. I'm having so much fun with these things that it's spilling into my cooking time.



(Alison, this is the desert I had sitting in my fridge. Believe it or not, I used the Dirt Cake as my inspiration.)

In the Woods

We spent the afternoon in the woods a few days ago.

The kids had a great time.



Millie did too.



They went a little crazy with a blue marker and I didn't stop them.




Everybody goes a little crazy when the spend an afternoon in the woods. It's normal.

Craft Time

I've dropped drawing instruction from our school day because I did not like the "curriculum" I was using (Drawing with Children). In its stead I added in craft time. Originally this was only going to be temporary until I ordered a new drawing curriculum but the kids are having so much fun I think I'll just keep it this way for awhile.

Wild

Gus is growing up so fast. He's always been a wild, romping little boy. But things are different now. He's getting smarter and stronger. He's discovering how much fun it is to take things apart, throw them around, jump on them a little (or a lot), and make them his own. Look out Mama!!!!

New Skirt

I made this skirt for Sylvia several months ago. It was too big and I was too lazy to make the easy adjustment. Actually I just had other things I wanted to sew and I figured it would fit someday. Well, that someday is finally here. Sylvia prefers to wear it with the bow in the front. But I usually make her keep it in the back. It's just one of those things.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Sorry this is belated.

We went to my brother in law's house.

Here's the desert I whipped up. I was very impressed with myself.



Here's Rex cooking up a ton of meat.



Millie with a water gun. She looks dangerous!



Check out Gus' new do!!



Here's Sylvia in the pool. She didn't stay long. There were too many big kids after awhile and that pool was rocking!

Sweet Picture

I love this picture. Sylvia's teaching Millie how to play Pat-a-Cake.

Summer Reading

I was in the library a little over a week ago and I noticed a pamphlet about the Summer Reading Club (the kind where you get prizes for reading a certain amount). I grabbed a copy because I thought Sylvia might be interested. And boy has it been a motivator! She's read 8 hours this past week and already picked up her first prize.



Once she's finished with the book club, I'm not above starting our own "piano club". In fact, I've already started collecting the prizes!

A Day at the Pool

This was a good boundary busting trip.


Millie took her first ride on a crab.


Not only did Gus finally get in the baby pool but he got in the big pool as well.


And Sylvia put on some goggles and considered putting her face under water. For a split second.

Another Tooth

Millie's getting her 7th tooth! It's the tiny one to the side on the bottom.

A Dinner Riddle

What do you get when you throw a little lettuce, red onion, cucumbers, pepperoncini, and tomatoes together?

Greek Salad! This has been one of Rex's favorite meals ever since I met him. Which is funny, because literally every other time I serve a vegetarian dinner he asks, "Where's the meat?".



As you can see, I did put chicken on it this time. YUM!