Baby Booties {New Etsy Listing}

Remember those fun little girly things I was talking about? Here is one of the finished products. I have a few more pairs in various stages of production in different prints/styles. But here's the first real finished product:

These were so much fun to sew, I can't wait to do some more! They are available in three sizes (not suitable for a walker as the bottoms are made of the same cotton fabric as the exterior.) The other pairs I'm working on have a Velcro closure rather than the ties. I will be listing those as soon as they're finished. Thanks for looking!

See them and my other items in my etsy shop.

Projects & Plans

I can't wait to show you what I'm working on right now! They are little and girlie and so much fun... But, I will refrain and keep you in great suspense until I can show you an actual finished product. Providing it, uh, turns out that is. There is nothing like a rainy fall day to get me excited about new projects. Yes, this after I just declared in my last post that I'm basically a lost-cause on the project-front. Ahem. I change with the weather. Nah funny!! As Hannah would declare.

Speaking of little miss princess, she's still awake upstairs in her crib. I just went and chatted with her for a few minutes, rubbed her back, and highly suggested she close her eyes. She's not buying it. She just grinned at me and wrinkled her nose and proceeded to tell me there was a bug on the ceiling. That's what I get for trying to squeeze a nap out of her at 2 p.m.

And then there's the littlest princess. She's been having a rough evening over here. I'm quite certain big bad tooth #1 is about to make it's appearance and that's leaving her rather confused and sad. Ah, all the things they must go through. I also think she's really wanting to crawl. She's not pushing herself to her knees or type of advanced movement like that (remember- the last babes in this house didn't take steps untill 18 months so our expectations are low). However, she's not so content to just sit and play like she used to be. My babies always go through these little mood swings right before they learn something new. Or, then again it could be the tooth thing.

Anyways. I'm going to bed so I can wake up early tomorrow and drink my coffee before the morning mayhem occurs. Hah. It's always a nice thought anyways.

This & That

I wish I could say the spaces between my blog posts are filled with all sorts of intelligent things in which I'm just dying to fill you in on. But no real excitement here- unless you consider the simple mundane tasks of keeping a house together interesting- picking up toys, folding clothes, washing clothes, picking up toys, washing dishes, folding clothes, washing clothes, picking up toys, picking up toys, picking up toys... Why do I do that again? Jack informed me one night we didn't need to pick up because they were just going to make a mess again in the morning. I had no good response.

Last week I started a yoga class and I'm enjoying it so much. I find myself wishing it were every evening rather than the one or two a week it is. I couldn't wait to slip out the door tonight- leaving Ryan to corral the kids into their beds. Just doing something for myself feels so good after being pulled in everyone else's direction all day long. I do yoga on my own at home but it doesn't compare to actually getting out of the house- I think that's half the enjoyment right there.

On Saturday my mom, sister, neice, Adalie, and I took a day-trip in which we were able to hit a few garage sales, a few re-sale shops, an extremely juicy quilt shop that I was unaware existed (I was able to restrain myself- this time), and some other shopping as well. I had good luck at one of the garage sales- scored some things for my living room- the big item being a large black shelf with pegs on it. Oooh, I can't wait to get that up!

Oh! I do have exciting news, actually. My sister had her baby today so I've got a new little niece! So happy for them that she is here. I wish we were just a bit closer so I could run over and see her, but for now I'll have to settle for the picture that was texted to me this afternoon. She's a sweetheart!

So, what's on your agenda for this week? I'm hoping to get some sewing done. Funny as it sounds- I think when I was going to school I actually got more done around here as far as projects go. Having a schedule does that to you: makes you commit to a time frame. So, maybe it's time to start searching for a job. Or perhaps I just need to dive into a really good project to get me going!

Friends Like These

Everyone needs a set of friends like mine: the ones that walk you through life changes, reminisce with you about things that happened a good twenty years ago, lift you over bumps, and bust out in a laughing fit before you even have a chance to tell the funny part of the story just because they know you that well.

You know the kind of friends I'm talking about.

These are the ones who were with you before the drama of middle school and were still there for you when it was through. Friends who were there long before boyfriends and husbands and kids- and can remind you about the girl you once were when life makes you forget. These are the ones who you know your dumbest moves, your saddest moments, your triumphs- and even if they weren't always right there to give you a hug they were cheering you on in their hearts.

These are the types of friends who can give you a look and you know what they're saying better than if they had actually spoken out loud. They share your memories, your dessert, the stories of your lives. They give you the best even if it means taking something less for themselves. They get you- sometimes better than you get yourself.

They're the ones who go out for coffee with you and no matter what it's never quite long enough. And as you drive home you think, Oh, I hope we can do that again real soon! And when, sometimes weeks or even months down the road, you do get together again- you jump right back in to the moment where you left off and start up again without missing a beat.

Thanks girls. What a fun night out that was!

Is "missrouted" just a fancy word for LOST?

After two days of school Lydia has reached the conclusion that "School is soooooo much fun! Way more fun than I even thought it would be!" So I'm feeling much better than I was the other evening just knowing she's excited about going each day. Jack, on the other hand, isn't so excited to see her go.

"I don't like when Lydia goes off to school," he complained today, going on to say he didn't know what to do. I suggested he color, play with his cars, pull out his farm set. But all of that held no great appeal without his constant playmate around and the little girls napping. Luckily, I remembered I had purchased a set of Lego Duplo blocks a long time ago from a garage sale and was able to unearth them fairly quickly from a corner of my room. That was all the entertainment he needed for the afternoon. 

In other events around here- I'm starting to get a bit concerned about a package that was supposed to be delivered several days ago. I caved in and ordered a couple more diapers when cotton babies had their seconds sale going on last week. Hannah's in no real danger of potty training any time soon and I was thinking this would make it easier to get by with both little girls in diapers. So. I've been tracking the package online, the free shipping was quick, it made it to the next door state... and then it stopped. And after about a day of nothing the new status that popped up yesterday morning was "missent", with the description reading something along the lines of "Your item was misrouted. Every effort is being made to correct the mistake. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later." And then, nothing. No further updates, no more info just, missent. Which, according to my spell check isn't even a real word and maybe, just maybe, the word they were really searching for here was "lost"?

Uh. Okay. So, I'm picturing this thing in some rural postage-stamp-sized post office on the other side of the US. Or maybe bouncing along in the back of a two-seater plane headed out to some desolate town in Alaska. Or perhaps it's in a jet- flying over the Atlantic ocean to an entirely different country. It could be weeks before this is resolved. But, not to worry. Remember- every effort is being made to correct the mistake so that makes it all better. In the meantime, I'll just keep refreshing my browser and looking at that daunting missent status while I drive myself crazy.

But I'm fine with that, really I am. Perfectly fine. Just in case you were wondering.

Anyways. Tomorrow is Thursday and Ryan is off for the next two days. And that, my friends, means projects are going to be happening around here. We're in the process of rearranging the kids bedrooms and I'm not sure anything we do is going to be ideal, but we'll go with it. We've got two kids rooms- one is extremely small and the other is moderately small. So with Adalie still occupying a pack-n-play in our bedroom at 7 months old, we're trying to figure out a good way to get her into one of the kid-rooms. The great plan involves building a loft in the extremely small room, putting new paint on the wall of both rooms, and shuffling kids around until something works.

If all else fails it should prove to be entertaining at least.

Kindergarten Butterflies

The last weekend of summer was a mild one for us. We visited family, hung out at home, and had an easy few days gearing up to the start of a new schedule at this house. Big day in this house tomorrow- our little girl is starting kindergarten!

She's got her first-day-of-school-outfit laid out on at the foot of her bed, her backpack waiting innocently by the door, and despite the nerves that surfaced for a bit at bedtime last night, she is more than ready to go. And suddenly, I'm not quite so ready to see her go! How is it possible we've already come to this day?! I will hold it together, I will hold it together, I will hold it together... But I'm not making any guarantees as to what happens after that bus drives away tomorrow- just so we're completely clear on that.

While the days have dwindled down leading up to this special moment in her life, I've wanted to just slow things down a bit. I know how excited she is- and trust me I'm right there excited with her- but hello! she's growing up too fast! I do not say this because it's a cliche- but becuase I'm wondering with sincerity- where did those years go? I have the grounding realization once again how fast children grow, how quick time passes.

As she's counted down the days, I've ticked through the questions surfacing in my mind: Did I do a good enough job? Did I teach her all she needs to know up to this point? Is she going to be okay? There is no doubt in my mind- I will continue to ask these questions over and over again as the years go by. It's part of being a mom, I am sure of that. And while I keep reminding myself this is only half-day kindergarten and not college three states away- my heart doesn't know the difference.

Yesterday afternoon Lydia and I went out for a few hours to get some school things for her. Ryan suggested I take her out for lunch and so her and I did just that. Because I've never gone out to eat with just her, I found myself pleasantly surprised when she slid into the booth right up next to me rather than occupying the opposite side. There was so much to appreciate in that moment.

She's ready. She's more than ready. And I will be too, I know I will. But right now, before everything changes and life moves forward into an entirely new direction- right now while the house is silent and everyone sleeps- I'm letting my heart have the quiet (and, yes, tearful) moment it needs. And then when tomorrow comes I'll be as brave as I know she's going to be.

But for now: that polka-dot backpack parked by the door? Well, it's going to make me go through an entire box of Kleenex, I'm telling you.