After ....
Last night I. said he was ready for a haircut so he was squeezed in with my appt. today.
We looked at a hair book, me showing him all the pictures of longer more styled hair, and him pointing out all the short haircuts. It was painfully obvious that he wanted a serious haircut ... and it's his hair so, of course, I consented.
It's a nice hairstyle, and it looks terrific. I'm sad about the loss of his long hair, but I know in a day or two I'll be perfectly used to this cut ... and it is hair ... it can always grow out again when he's ready.
I. likes it. He's going to have to get used to it, but I think he'll be pleased. He was running into too many situations where he was mistaken for a girl and at 9 year old that mattered to him.
His neighbor friend said it looked gay. Can I kick his butt? Boy, that just gets my blood boiling. Why do they have to say such stupid critical things to each other? Grrr...
I'd working on getting some things on etsy. Hopefully in the next day or two. I've finished more baby blankets, burp pads, and back packs ... I just need to get the photos taken and items listed.
Check out her great blog for tips and hints on going green, as well as just about life in general. She's full of practical suggestions and information.
Thanks again!
This morning we got up really early (for us) and left the house on a little family adventure. We followed Daddy through little local towns, heading further and further into the state of Florida.
We had the pleasure of meeting this Momma at a roadside rest stop. She had 6 one-month-old babies hiding in the waters with her. They were well hidden from us, which was just what she wanted. She was really active and it was obvious that she was protecting those babies with all she had.
And then, as you can see in the background of this photo, her large male friend appeared to say hello. He was big ... probably about 10 feet long, and much calmer and lazier than the Momma. Alligators are, by nature, pretty immobile and can stay in one position for a really long time so to get to see both of these moving around was a treat.
The alligators were behind a fence, but the fence was only to keep cars from going into the swamp and didn't extend very far ... leaving open space on both ends ... if they'd wanted to they could have come a lot closer to us, but really that isn't their way if they're not threatened or really hungry so no worries.
Their is an indian reservation just to the north of where we were, smack dab in the middle of the Everglades on I75, and we could have gone for a day of touristy things, but that wasn't our destination today.
So we continued traveling across the Everglades. It's hard to tell in this photo but the "river of grass" extends far past the eye can see, and in this portion it's really just grasslands, not many trees at all.
Ah, here we are at our final stop. No, not Frog Kingdom. Much better. The one and only IKEA in the state of Florida (for a teeny bit longer ... there's one opening in Orlando in a few weeks). Brand spanking new, just opened about two weeks ago.
It was our very first visit to an IKEA. We had to see what it was all about. What a trip!
A. and K. spent the first 45 minutes in the supervised kids play area. They had fun, but were limited to 45 minutes which really wasn't much time for the rest of us to tour the store.
Tour we did though. We looked at every chair, lamp, cabinet, fixture, accessory, etc. We sat, we touched, we played. We had fun! Oh my gosh, so much to see and so dang inexpensive. Some things were definately cheap, some were just inexpensive, and it really wasn't hard to tell the difference.
I had a short list of things I was looking for and only found area rugs for the kitchen ... but the rag rugs were $1.99 each, I couldn't have made them myself for that little. We also found some washclothes and two flower lamps for the girls room. We picked out a pair of bookshelves for the dining room but they were out of stock so we'll try again at a later date.
I'd hoped to find some fabric but didn't. Much of it was very cool but the prints were too large for my purposes.
And then we ate at their restaurant. Very chaotic, but good food. Surprisingly good for a cafeteria-style restaurant. And again, inexpensive.
It was a fun adventure and we'll be sure to head back there when there are things we actually need.
So the kids and I had our first visit to a "pumpkin patch"... at a local bank, on the side of a busy road. They had fun ... perhaps not as much fun as they normally have driving from store to store frantically looking for the last few saleable pumpkins ... but fun.
The icing on the pumpkin patch cake was a hayride. The gentleman who rode in the back with them is an alligator trapper and he told trapping stories for most of the ride ... which, for most of the kids, was way more exciting than the hayride (which they thought was pretty cool too).
And then I came up with the hairbrained idea to have a group photo of the kids and their pumpkins of choice. As you can see, that was a bit challenging. Mostly K., who couldn't hold his pumpkin and then decided it was a drum. Really, with five of them, I don't hold out much hope of a good group picture, except at the photo studio (they work magic there, I swear), but it's always interesting trying.
Now that I'm changing my ways and doing things ahead of time maybe I'll make the other four costumes and get the candy before the 31st. Doubt it though.
Believe it or not, I have been very busy sewing. Photos are forthcoming ...
Quilts and Quilting - some days I only have time to look at photos from one group. On those days this is the group I'll choose to look at. Every day I find something new, wonderful, beautiful, and inspiring. Oooh ...
Rural Decay - this group gets a lot of images in a day. I find that looking at it as a slideshow is the way to go for me. The kids and I can sit for quite a while enjoying the images, dreaming of the families who lived in the decaying homes, wondering who ran the now defunct ivy covered gas station from days gone by, pretending that we are inside the ruins of castles, bridges, inns, barns, and schools. Sometimes we ponder the possibility of owning old farmsteads or factories ... would they be large enough for our family ... could they (will they?) ever be restored? Aaah ...
Handmade Crafts for Boys - cool stuff for boys can be hard to find! This group is packed with talented artisans who get what a boy wants and needs. Full of inspiration.
Studebaker and Packard - my Dad is a Studebaker fanatic. Not sure what a Studebaker is? Check out the group. LOL
Baby Accessories - another great source of inspiration. Beware ... baby envy can develop after prolonged exposure to these images.
Crafting for Kids - cool clothes for kids, but also great craft ideas (think upcoming holidays).
There are more, of course, but these float my boat these days.
Each year, right around Thanksgiving, the kids draw the name of one of their siblings out of a hat. That's the only other child in the house they are responsible for giving a gift to.
Traditionally, some time before Christmas Mom or Dad will take each child out shopping to pick out their gift. This year, though, we've changed the rules a bit and are only allowing the kids to give each other handcrafted gifts. This decision arose from the realization that some of them have more money to spend than others, and that even those that have money need to be saving it. So this year, with the new rule change, each child will have time alone with Mom or Dad to prepare their gift.
The kids look forward to this every year and have already been asking when they can draw their names and start thinking about the gift they'll give. Over the years they've made some great thoughtful and heartfelt choices. Their gifts are always cherished by the recipient, and Jason and I cherish the time alone we get to spend with each child while they do their shopping, or this year while they create their gift.
Speaking of gifts ... Meg is the winner of the flamingo purse! Thank you all for your wonderful comments and your continued support.
All Because I'm Me products are now available at Ditto Kiddo in Bonita Springs, FL.
Many more products to come, including girly reversible backpacks, blankets, and additional styles of handbags.
This also gives Jason and I a chance to see what we need to do a show with this merchandise. We got some great ideas after seeing what we currently have and, unfortunately for him, Jason's list of things to do just got a little longer.
Of course, all items will be happily shipped to anywhere in the world.
I'd love to hear any suggestions or merchandising ideas!
Don't forget to enter the contest.
I think I should celebrate and order a cake from Publix (it's a commercial they had recently ... every event, like taking out the trash, should be celebrated with a cake from Publix. Their cakes are the best, totally. I'm all for it.).
While I eat my whole cake (yellow, with buttercream frosting), late at night so I don't have to share with the kids, you can post a comment anywhere on this blog and be entered in a drawing for a give-away.
The give-away item is the flamingo purse below with some small fabric pieces, but will be well worth the 2 seconds it takes to post a comment ... and if you win, and aren't completely satisfied with your winning, you may return the item within 30 days for a full refund (less shipping and handling charges and a 10% restocking fee). Ha ha.
What have you got to lose? All comments received by midnight on Wednesday will be included in the drawing.
Thanks for hanging out with me for the first 100 posts. It's been fun.
The best thing ever for her and I. was getting to rig their boats in the dark. They had to use flashlights. Really, most of the rigging was done after it was light enough to see but I made sure we got onto that beach in the dark, they were so excited for it, and really, it was pretty cool. Very serene, seeing the little flashlights everywhere and hearing nothing but the rustling of sails. Well worth getting up at 6:00 a.m. (not that I'm volunteering to do it again in the near future).
The best thing for me was seeing the whole regatta experience from the eyes of a "freshman" sailor. C. has been racing for over 4 years, and I. for over 2, so I'd forgotten how exciting everything can be. M. picked her goodie bag apart piece by piece, oohing and aahing over every single thing in the bag ... and there were some oohing and aahing things in their - most notably flashlights and whistles.
She was nervous to go out for the first time, especially into the gulf with the waves near the shore, but showed no fear when the time game and just went for it.
I. was one of the first kids in his group rigged and each day he was one of the first kids on the water. It took no prompting or reminding from me, definately some maturing going on there.
The first day of sailing the weather wasn't cooperative so I. and M.'s fleet only got two races in. The second day was much better, with 4 races completed.
Jason, A., and I got to hang out on a boat and watch the sailing up close. It's rare that Jason gets to go to a regatta with us so it was really nice for him to see the kids sail.
One race, we see M. go around the first mark but haven't yet seen I. Suddenly Jason calls out that I. is right next to M. and I need to take pictures. I start snapping away, then look up to realize that isn't I. at all ... it's some other kid with hair just like his and a life jacket the same color. We all get a laugh out of it. After the race has ended I see the kid whose picture is now all over our camera and I realize it's a girl. Now, I.'s hair has been an issue lately with me realizing that he really does look like a girl in boys clothes and we may need to do something about it. So now we're all laughing, not only has Jason mistaken him for another kid, but it's a girl ... Then we talk to M., who says, "Oh, I know who that is. Her name is Moose." For some reason we were all laughing hysterically about the whole thing.
A few minor problems ... M. somehow didn't realize a race had begun so she got a late start, I. was over the course start and had to go back and restart a race, causing him to lose a few places.
M. finished in 63rd place, out of 95 boats. That's a great result for a first regatta. She's thrilled, and we're really proud of her.
I. finished 22nd of 95. He was hoping for a higher finish but he had some great races and showed incredible improvements over last year, and we're very pleased with how well he did. He seems to be finding his place on the race course and appears to be enjoying racing more this year.
Overall, a successful weekend. The kids are tired and ready for a good night's sleep, and are already talking about their next regatta.
M. had the first Halloween party tonight, through her Brownie troop.
She had wanted to be a cat, but wasn't sure what kind. Then we decided on a 50's girl, but didn't have enough fabric. I suggested a 50's guy, with a freezer paper-stenciled t-shirt and her high tops, but she thought that that was a ridiculous notion.
Finally we settled on a scarecrow. We visited our favorite children's new and resale shop, Ditto Kiddo, and found the overalls. I thought plaid flannel shirt and took her to the boys section ... um, no thanks Mom ... I guess princesses don't wear boys clothes. So she's wearing her sister's old shirt. The hat is a leftover Easter hat.
The straw is raffia, cut up. The patches are glue-gunned on and the stitching done with a pen. The overalls were very clean and "like new" ('cause that's how we do it at Ditto Kiddo) so I rubbed the seams and a few other areas with furniture stain.
Total project time: 15 minutes
Total time to clean up all the little "straw" bits that spread throughout the shop: A whole lot longer
Baby blankets ... these fold as nicely as the burp cloths ... they look so polished all folded and ready to go.
Notice that there are only two here ... I made two of each fabric, so four total ... compared to 32 or so burp pads ... why? Because that white backing fabric - soft, delicious, pretty, snuggle-able - is evil. I measured, I cut, I put the two front and back together and they didn't line up. Remeasured, recut, put the front and back together again and they didn't line up. It ended up looking fine in the end, but what a pain in the neck.
I did have frontier cowboy and indian fabric set out to make a few more boyish blankets but while I was getting ready to cut it I took a good look at it and saw guns and arrows ready to be shot ... and it just didn't feel right for a baby blanket.
I will make a few more of these, they look nice and feel great, but I'll never love them like I love the diapers ... oh, but I did happen to notice that I don't have any diapers that match the blue blanket ... off to go take care of that.
Burp pads ... embellished cloth diapers ... burp cloths ... whatever you call them ... these are way too much fun to make. Way too much fun ... and so hard to know when to say when.
But what's not to love? They fold up and stack so nicely, this perfect pile of white and color ... so satisfying to my need for organization. And they use just the right size fabric scrap. And they're fun to embellish ... and with such a small area it takes no time at all to to do! And the white cloth diaper is so WHITE ... what wouldn't look great attached to it? And they feel good ... the diaper is so soft.
I'm so in love with these.
I meant to make 12, just to see how it went. I think I'm at 34 now ... but they are so cute and fun! The diapers come in a package of 12, so I've left the last few of my last package to match with blankets I'm making (more on that later).
A little walk down memory lane ... when I was a small child I sucked my thumb. My security object was ... a cloth diaper - no particular one, just any we had in the house. Back then the Curity diapers had edges that were a tighter weave than the rest of the diaper and I'd suck my thumb running my fingers against that age, unwrinkling it as I went. Even now I can conjure up the feeling of the thumb sucking and diaper rubbing (probably easier to remember since I sucked my thumb for a long time). But that has nothing to do with new cloth diaper fascination, nothing, I'm sure.
I've decided to start selling the things I've been making for the upcoming craft show. I'm working at a pace where I believe I'll have plenty to fill a table and with the holidays coming I'd like these things to be available now. So, look for them at Ditto Kiddo and soon at my online shop.
I'd be happy to post a tutorial for this if anyone would like it. I don't know if I did mine the way others do ... I really do stink at following directions, so I'd be happy to pass along what I did.