…the best part about returning from Market is that my kiddos get their stuff back! This particular cobbler’s kids totally have no shoes. Much of my company is founded on designing things for my children and their interests, yet they aren’t allowed to actually have the things I make because they end up being my samples! Ha! So happy to let them have their things…
It all changed. Two weeks ago. All at once. I felt it. Now I can see it too—the light is different. It is a slow awakening each year. And then, rather suddenly, everything shifts. The light turns almost pink. My pupils can’t do their work of filtering out the sun anymore and sunglasses, which in the winter are just an option, now become a necessity.
“Who do you want to be, mom?” I get that question a lot around here from the big boy, “Will Turner or Jack Sparrow?”…”Hermione or Hagrid?”…”Do you want to be the parrot?” I particularly like being Jack Sparrow because of the kookiness of his character and the pirate accent.
| Pillows from the first day |
Have Bernina…will travel! That’s my motto. This week, my son’s kindergarten teachers were kind enough to let me bring my sewing machine to school as a choice time activity. He often comes home from school with hand sewn felt stuffies and I just love that they teach the kids to sew by hand at his school. What an important life skill to learn at a young age. I thought it would extend the curriculum if they used a power tool! In two days the kids made 28 pillows. They each picked their own fabrics from my scrap bin, traced the templates, cut, and then brought their creation to me at the machine where I let them push the pedal! We had a lot to sew so I encouraged them to go a bit faster than I normally would. I think they had lots of fun. And I just love that they all went home with a creation they had designed and made. One mom told me her son brought his to the dinner table last night because he was so excited about it.
Today my two aspiring sewist pupils finished their A-line, elastic waist skirts at our tiny sewing school (earlier post here). We used the My Very Own Skirt pattern in the awesome Sewing School book. The work took two sessions—about four hours total—but it was worth the wait. Seriously? Homemade clothing? Major coolness and inner-pride. Dude.
When my little ladybird told me she fell down at school today and hurt her knee, I told her we’d go home and put ice-rice on it. To my great alarm and surprise, I realized that we didn’t actually have any ice-rice in our freezer (just frozen peas). Ice-rice is the normal stuff of preschool: cold rice in a little ziploc baggie used to soothe booboos. It does wonders for owies of all sorts.
| The Stand. |
Spring seems to have come a bit early this year, which would be nice if we lived in Minnesota. In the desert, warm and sunny days are so relentless that you hate to see one in early March. But when global warming gives you lemons…well, you know. Anyway, it feels like yesterday that I posted about our last lemonade stand—click here—but I fear it was probably a year ago. It always happens quite unexpectedly and fully without warning. Thankfully, we had six lemons on hand and some sugar. The signage is usually the first order of business. Check out the totally kick-ass spelling of quarter in the illustration below. Big difference this year: big boy can write…and the ladybird joined us in every bit of the fun. She even colored her own KRODR. 🙂
| LEGO for Moleskine. Be still my heart. |
LEGO for Moleskine. Limited edition journals: write in the book—attach LEGOS to the cover. And then the counsel to “think with your hands.” Goodness me. I think this might be my moment of nirvana in the capitalist mainframe for the week. Is it more heavenly for the child or for his parents? Not sure. We might just get some super glue and a Composition notebook and call it quits. 🙂 Get your at Moleskine or Amazon.
When two of my mama friends asked if I would teach their eight year old daughters to sew, I jumped at the chance. I distinctly remember learning to knit in an after-school class taught by my 4th grade English teacher, Mrs. Broughton. I remember how weirdly special it felt to be at school after hours— to be learning something other than English from my teacher. It felt… mystical—as if we were somehow conspiring. As if she was teaching me what I really needed to know in life.
this one would say, “i love you, i love you, i love you—with my whole heart, i love you.” Since my little ladybird’s favorite foods include, but are not limited to: chocolate, cake, hummus & carrots, or chocolate, the sandwich sits uneaten on the plate. And somebody should take away my cookie cutters too (Elaina!).