CINDERELLY

Cinderella has become the latest favorite movie in our house. Yes, even Ethan. He LOVES the mice. He watches Gus trying to pick up ALL those pieces of corn while the cat is stalking him and he laughs his ASS off. We need to record some good old Tom & Jerry for that boy because he will eat it up.

HALLOWEEN

More on the making of Jocelyn’s costume (can you tell I’m very proud of my accomplishments?). We had bought her a costume which had a white hat and a cow-spotted vest and little fringey wrist thingees. “Eh,” I thought at the time, but there you go. Later we found her a pink cowboy hat, which she’s been wearing everywhere, and so when I was in the fabric store and saw a little pamphlet on making a fringed bag with fleece, the lightbulb went on.

I bought some pink fleece, and then I got a little jean jacket for her on sale at Target and took an old pair of her pants (sized 24 months, it’s amazing they even fit her, seeing as how everything she wears is 3T at this point), and sewed on some hot pink fringe. Ethan kept trying to convince me to cut the fringe off. He was sure I just didn’t know what he was talking about, because obviously, once I understood, I would jump at the chance, so he got paper and scissors, cut some paper fringe, and then made me watch as he snipped off all the fringe to make confetti. “See mommy?! Come on! Let’s do it!”

Even though Ethan’s design point of view was thwarted, I am pretty proud of her outfit. I had to hand sew most of the fringe onto the bottom of her jeans, as the pantleg was too narrow to fit around the bottom of the machine, and my machine was on the fritz to begin with (couldn’t get the tension correct) and by the time I had to resort to hand sewing, it was waiting by the door to go get repaired. She was definitely the belle of the ball last night:

Fashion fashion fashion! (IE: new cheap shoes)

I have a new pair of shoes that I got for 20 bucks at target. I call them my tarty school marm shoes.

Because they have that klunky blocky (that is so popular this decade*) librarian school marm look paired with a 3 inch heel. This is very high for me. VERY HIGH. In fact, I wore them around my office for a day (w/out wearing them outside) because I was positive I would have to take them back because my feet would die from them being too high. I can manage a 2″ or even a 2 1/2″ heel, but these suckers are HIGH (again, high for ME). I am amazed that I can totally wear them. Even in Costco (lots of walking around). Wow! ME! Tarty! Who knew??
*and yet you’d never see one on Sex and the City and Stacey London always wants to set them on fire. Perhaps I should rethink my choices….. NAH.

So I quite like my new shoes. Which is nice, because remember when I lost my wallet at TJ Maxx? Looking at shoes? Dreaming of shoes? Spent the next month WANTING CUTE SHOES? Well, I went back (a month and a half later) because those nice shoes kept swimming around in my head and I WANTED THEM DAMMIT and they had NO cute shoes. I was heart broken. So when I found cute 20 dollar shoes, I found some solace. However, they ARE cheap.. which means…. Stinky feet. Cheap shoes means manmade plasticy materials that make my feet sweat instead of breathing, and sweat = STINK. My tarty school marm shoes are very stinky. That’s the only downside to cheap shoes. That, and they fall apart in a year. I have a pair of heeled sandals that my mother bought me at Nordstrom that I’ve had for .. oh gosh, I’m old, probably 13 years that only JUST gave up the ghost this past summer (and I’m not yet giving up that they’re not really ok, just a flesh wound, they’re going for a walk, in just a moment.. they feel HAPPEEEEEE….. ahem).

So. Stinky, tarty, school marm shoes. I like em:

Let me say for the record, that only his daughter could get him to do this. It was nothing *I* said, trust me. That girl has got her daddy wrapped around her finger. JUST AS SHE SHOULD. So of course, I dived for the camera.
SADNESS

I wasn’t going to post anything about this, but most of our friends read this (or have spouses that do), and I think people would like to hear.. James had to say goodbye to his dog last Saturday. He and his sister Sandi adopted Cydney, a sweet black lab, when they were in college at VA Tech. She was probably about 11-12 years old. I call her our time share dog, because sometimes we have her, and sometimes Sandi has her. It’s a very convenient arrangement when vacations roll around. Erm. It was. 🙁 She broke her UC ligament a few months ago and has gone downhill snce then. We hadn’t seen her since before the accident, but James went and picked her up last Wednesday. We were a little shocked to see the condition she was in. Unable to walk easily, shivering, sores all over her body from her licking and worrying away at herself. She was not a happy dog. Friday when James came home, she had thrown up a few times. He called Sandi, and Saturday morning, they all met at the vet’s office and said goodbye. It was for the best. But it was a sad day.

We miss you, Cydney.

– amy

First off, I had a whole thing going where I was taking photos all through the creating part of jocelyn’s costume. then my sewing machine broke and that went to hell. But here’s a few:

But enough of that. Let’s get to the actual Halloween photos themselves:

And now. I’m going to bed. the sugar high has crashed and I am falling over asleep. G’nite.

– amy dreams of Almond Joy. And of having a pair of those cowgirl pants for herself.

You know, it just figures. I hauled my camera around with me all last week, and didn’t really use it. And then I REALLY WISH I had it last night on my way home. The moon was a beautiful sliver hanging in the velvety violet sky, which grew purple and then dark orange closer to the horizon. Fluffy clouds spotted the night, the sort that you wish you could just fly up and ride around on. Jocelyn kept saying, “THE MOOOOOOON! THE MOOOOOOON!” (which I first thought was, “I’M HOME!” but quickly caught on to) I tried to take a picture with my camera phone, but it really sucked big time. I wish I had not only my camera, but a tripod.

And then I wish I had it with me again, because last night, I finished my crochet hat, and I’m wearing it today. I took a crappy camera phone picture, but it really is crappy.

So what do you do with crappy photos? Why, photoshop and filter the hell out of them of course! Now instead of just crappy, it will look crappy, AND ARTY!

So here you go:

Now I am going to HAVE to learn how to knit!!

But I don’t. So you’re stuck with this blurry camera phone photo (clickity click to see the big version):

My latest batch of marble push-pins. We have a ton of marble magnets on our fridge, but I really needed more pins for my board at work. Push pins seem to be a hot commodity around here, because I couldn’t find any in the supply closet. What a great reason to make my own!
THE GLORIOUSNESS OF ASPHALT

A new road, which they have been working on FOR EV ER finally opened yesterday. James and I were buzzing like little bees over the flashing sign they put up to alert everyone that a new traffic pattern would be in effect Tuesday. Tuesday morning came – the road was STILL CLOSED. I was torqued. James was torqued. All of our (meager) conversation that day was how mad we were that they LIED and it WAS NOT OPEN.

But then! Lo! The heavens opened! And the new road was open upon our arrival home!

It usually takes James 30-40 minutes to take the detour to the kids’ school in the mornings to drop off. This morning, 15-20 minutes. It usually takes me 20-30 minutes to get to I-66 through the stop and go traffic. This morning, 10 minutes.

Now if they would only finish 66. It’s insane. They are so close to being done. JUST FINISH IT ALREADY!

DVD MUST HAVE

I think it’s about time we cough up the $17 bucks and purchase one of these:

That’s right folks, a DVD rewinder.

Just THINK of all the time you will have when you don’t have to rewind those damn DVDs yourself anymore.

That is all. I bid you adieu.

– amy says, “A-doo.”

I came across Hilary Lang’s Wee Bunny pattern (it’s free! it’s easy! even I could do it!) and thought that perhaps I could make one, put a totoro face on it (from My Neighbor Totoro), call it a totoro and maybe be able to pull the wool over my kids eyes that they’re ACTUALLY supposed to be bunnies. (it hasn’t worked, Jocelyn called them “little BUNS!” during the construction process, although she has readily adopted the “totoro” title now that they’re made.. )

I’m pretty pleased with how they’ve come out, actually! I am going to make a few more, one more at the very least, because I WANT ONE TOO. A little “sad” totoro! More on that below.

Jocelyn’s Totoro when it was still clean (completed).

Ethan’s Totoro still in progress

I tried out a few different mouths when finishing up Jocelyn’s totoro. The totoros in the movie are never exactly giddy, except in certain scenes. Mostly they have a serious sort of look to them. Almost grumpy. So the first mouth I did, Jocelyn took one look at it and said, “It’s a SAD totoro!” and demanded a HAPPY totoro.

Ethan however, wanted a sad totoro. “Not too sad. Just.. sad.”

I like the “sad” totoro better myself. (Jocelyn has already had 24 hours with her completed totor, and it already had jam on it by the time Ethan’s was finished, and there was daylight for photo taking with both completed totoros.)

I don’t know why this picture tickles me so, but it does. they look so cute looking at each other.

And now, some real totoros, for reference (for more totoro goodness, visit totoro.org):

Yes. I am way off. But still, I think I did ok on the faces 🙂 Honestly, IT COULD BE WORSE! SO JUST SHOOSH!
-amy, hey let’s GO! HEY LET’S GO! WE’RE HAPPY AS CAN BE!

A year ago ?? Two years ago?

I think it was 2 years ago, because Jocelyn was a wee little baby then.

Why was I remembering 2 years ago? Oh yeah.

A year or two ago, when James informed me he was taking Saturday classes that summer, my heart dropped and my mind exploded and I thought I would sink into the depths of despair. My mind screamed in denial. Then it screamed in anger. I ALREADY HAVE TO WATCH THESE KIDS 5 DAYS A WEEK, 2 EVENINGS AND NOW YOU WON’T BE HERE SATURDAYS TOO??? I seriously felt so depressed I may have cried over it.

Before I go on, let me just say that this was during a period of time that James worked from home, and I stayed at home with the kids. It was a wonderful time, we would all get up around 7:30-8ish, shower/get dressed and then give daddy kisses as he headed down the stairs to work. He would come up now and then to go potty, we would all have lunch together, and whenever anyone was doing anything super cute (I know, how did he get ANY work done?) I would buzz him on the phone and he’d run up to come see.

So my (inner) cries of abandonment were really not too well founded. Except that the daily wear and tear of staying at home was obviously telling on my psyche.

I did something cool though. Despite my despair at the ruination of our weekends for the entire summer (and let me tell you, it really did ruin the summer. James would agree.) I decided to flip this situation on it’s head and do something fun every week. I tried to view it as a special time I got to take the kids somewhere cool and exciting. I tried to ignore the fact that I already had 5 other days with no James that I filled somehow without wanting to stick my head in the oven, and make Saturdays special.

The first day, I got everyone ready, packed the double stroller, some PBJs and drove into DC. We parked along the river, walked over by the round memorial (what, you don’t know which one I’m refering to? Bah! Sorry, the only name that keeps popping into my head is Jefferson and Lincoln, and I don’t think it’s either, it’s not on the mall) around the edge of the water, looking at the ducks, watching Ethan climbing UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN the steps of that one memorial that you can look over the water and see the white house (aren’t I helpful with all the names?) while I tried to hide behind a column and nurse Jocelyn. We watched folks playing football, we investigated every rock and twig and we saw a mother goose with a sweet little line of baby geese walking in a line just like a little goose-train.

It was a pretty nice day, and I remember feeling pleased on my way home. If I had just stayed home, I would have moped and gotten more depressed. I know that sometimes it is all about your choices, and not about how you feel, even when you don’t really feel like making that choice. It’s hard when you just want to wallow in the pity-party, but I decided to have fun, and dammit, I had fun.

I’m recalling all this because James went to his first class on Tuesday, and didn’t get home until 10pm. I’m not really depressed over this, but it was a nice summer with no classes, and it’s a bit of an adjustment to the new schedule. I thought about how Tuesday went, and am not particularly happy. I got the kids, got dinner ready, and then kind of lazed around reading a John Grisham book until bedtime while the kids played. Got them into bed w/out incident and then lazed around watching TV. I had the best intentions of cleaning the kitchen, but it got later and later and it wasn’t happening until James called and said, “YOU’RE CLEANING THE KITCHEN, AREN’T YOU??? YOU SHOULD CLEAN THE KITCHEN!” and then I got up and cleaned the kitchen.

I don’t know, I wasn’t sad, but I WAS wallowing a teeny bit. “Woe is me. James isn’t here, so I’ll just sit here and ignore my children and my dirty kitchen and read.”

Anyway, my point is, I think I need to rearrange my point of view on this whole no James 2x a week thing. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, feeling OH SO PUT UPON because I MUST CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN WITHOUT AID FOR 3 WHOLE HOURS, TWICE A WEEK, I’ve decided to view it as 2 nights when after the kids are in bed, I can do absolutely my own thing.

So the point to all this? I dedicate Tuesday and Thursday nights to craftiness! No more feeling sorry for myself, I shall look forward to these two nights as the nights I get creative, in whatever fashion I choose. I have been dipping my toes into some crafty projects lately, and some are still in the mid-way phase. Tonight I’m going to try to finish Jocelyn’s Hello Kitty pillow.

Next, I’ll finish the bears.

and THEN, THE WORLD! MUAHAHAHAHA!

– amy “NO MORE! TALE TO TELL!” be-damy

My favorite sheets, the first ones I bought for our real live adult bed, the beautiful soft cotton 500 thread count sheets… have finally given up the ghost.

In fact, they probably gave up the ghost about a month before I stopped using them, but I was in denial. The threadbare spots gave way to actual holiness, and not the kind of holiness that brings you closer to God. The kind that brings you closer to MATTRESS.

Still even they they had holes and I’d mended some rips in them, they still had to have some practical use, right? YES DAMMIT I LOVE THEM I’M KEEPING THEM IN SOME FORM OR ANOTHER!

Well, I am always intrigued when I read my Lucy Maud Montgomery books and they talk about braided or rag rugs.

So, fIrst, I tore my beloved top sheet into 1″ strips. Then I crotched myself a nifty bag. I don’t think I have any pictures of my bag.

Both the kids were quite taken with my bag. So next I made one for Jocelyn.

I didn’t think Ethan would like a bag, so I started to make a rug for him to go next to his bed. But when I told him that, he informed me that he wanted a bag too. So I made him one too.

What these bags really need are linings.

I was pretty enamored with my bag for a while. I even stopped using my purse completely. However, the novelty has worn off and the drudgery of digging through the bag for all my crap — well, I’ve lost my love of the bag. I need a bag with pockets – and different sections.

Maybe I could sew up a lining with sections / dividers, but honestly, I am really not that great a sewer. I took the mandatory sewing in home ec. in jr. high, but all my efforts since then, including the stab at quilting I’ve done a few times, have been of my own engineering and thoughts with no real knowledge of the “correct” way to do anything to back me up.

So if anyone wants to throw some sewin’ learnin’ at me, I would be so appreciative.

Still. Cute bag. Love the super-whiteness of it.