Opposites

Thank you, Richard Scarry, for deftly explaining Husband's and my living situation at any given moment.

A Little Something for Baby

For those of you who know I’m making a Star Wars quiet book for Baby, I’m still plugging away at it. (Final pictures to come 2015ish.) And since I know I’m probably not going to let Baby touch it until he’s, like, 12, I thought I’d make him a quiet book that he can actually use in the meantime. I love how it turned out and I’m quite proud of it, considering I never thought I could make something like this. So I wanted to share it with you, my three dear readers.

First, the cover. 

Sewing ric-rac straight is a pain in the you-know-what, so I made an executive decision that the non-straight lines are charming.

Page 1: Car

Baby loves cars, and the foam wheels on this one turn.

Page 2: Shapes

The shapes have Velcro so Baby can take them off the page as he likes and throw them around. Which he is prone to do with books and toys, usually aimed at the people sitting behind us in church.

Page 3: Barn

Who’s inside? Animal finger puppets!

Meet cow, pig, and evil-eyed chick. (I’m still having trouble with French knots, okay?)

Page 4: Doghouse

Baby also loves doggies. (From a distance. Through a window. With me holding him.) This doghouse has a special friend.

Peek-a-boo!

Page 5: Fishing Boat

I love these little fish. They can all jump in the boat if they get scared.

There you have it. You might have noticed that all the pages have eyelets where the metal rings loop through. I got a fancy eyelet/snap setter and this was my first time using it. I was nervous because I knew if the eyelet tool didn’t work I could potentially ruin a page of the book and then I’d have to do it all over. Plus, the tool looks like some sort of torture device. Or dental tool. Same diff.

But it worked nicely and I’m happy with the outcome. I know I’ll still wince when Baby grabs or bends something, but it’s for him to enjoy now before he starts pulling on Princess Leia’s braids.

In Which We Attend a Musical Recital

For the past few years I've taught piano out of my home. A few months ago, since I hated recitals so much when I was taking piano lessons growing up, I thought, "Hey, I should make my students have a recital!" So I planned and prepped and, a couple weeks ago on a rainy Saturday morning, I had my first piano recital as a teacher. First off, the instrument: 

Yellow! I want a colorful piano. This one was courtesy of the cozy recital room at the local music store. 

I brought everyone's music, just in case someone forgot their books or went blank at the keyboard and started staring into the distance or picking their nose or something.

And then 40 people packed into the room and 15 minutes later it was over. Short and sweet. And speaking of sweet, what's a recital without refreshments? 

To accompany (ha ha) the store-bought doughnut holes, I made frosted star cookies and music note cookies. And to bribe encourage my students to like me even more, each one got a goodie bag with candy, stickers, and a pin. 

Oh, yes. I. am. awesome.

34

My friend Lindsay recently turned 26, and on her blog she posted 26 things she loves in honor of her birthday. I too had a birthday recently. I turned 34, which seemed pretty insignificant until I realized that Lindsay was only 26. And then I just felt old.
 
Anyhoo, I liked her post and decided to do it too in honor of my insignificant-yet-old-feeling birthday. So here, in no particular order, are 34 things I love (with the understanding that Husband and Baby come before any of these).
     
1. Sunshine
2. Autumn leaves
3. The sound of waves crashing
4. Lists
5. Asthma inhalers
6. Shakespeare
7. Twinkle lights
8. Cookbooks
9. Josh Groban
10. Arts festivals
11. My new rotary cutter and cutting mat
12. Having three brothers
13. Jo-Ann Fabric Store
14. Wildflowers
15. Italian food
16. Peanut butter and chocolate
17. Picture books
18. Hot chocolate
19. Dame Judi Dench
20. Winnie-the-Pooh
21. Sandals
22. Christmas
23. Summer
24. Baking
25. Drum Corps competitions (hey, I'm a band geek)
26. Guys and Dolls
27. Unique jewelry
28. Legends of King Arthur
29. Baby clothes
30. Disneyland
31. Rainstorms
32. The smell of swimming pool chlorine
33. My in-laws
34. Being on time

Don't Be Fooled

 

When I was in school growing up, I welcomed the years that April Fools' Day fell on Saturday or Sunday. I got teased enough and I didn't need another day when kids could do what they wanted to me because they were "supposed to."
     
As I got older the foolish holiday fell by the wayside for me. I never pranked anyone and I don't anticipate coloring my family's milk green or serving them mashed potato cupcakes. But lately I've been thinking about how I've fooled myself over the years. I fooled myself into thinking I would never find a job I loved. I fooled myself into thinking I would never get married. I fooled myself into thinking I would never feel confident about myself. And, after a heart-wrenching time, I fooled myself into thinking I could never have children.
     
All those things have now come to pass, and I don't say that for a hearty pat on the back, but for anyone reading this who might be fooling themselves the same way I did (and still do from time to time, unfortunately). Don't fool yourself into thinking something you want so badly will never happen. Never give up on what you want. Daffodils aren't fooled by the hard earth, crusted over from winter. They push their way through, knowing that something better awaits them.
     
What's awaiting you?

What I've Been Doing Lately...

Stitching up C-3PO...

(I call it, C-3PO, in progress.)

Making binkie clips...

Stuffing a bunny...

And buying Easter M&Ms on the cheap. (I think extreme couponers are loonybins, but when it comes to good deals on candy, I might tend to lean in the extreme direction.)