The Born Identity

Annalise has finally decided that she can no longer be contained.  This is rather surprising considering she lived the first year of her life snuggled in a pink carrier that she seemed to have no plans of vacating ever.

She is not a fan of diaper changes, clothing changes, nail trimmings, face wipes or any other activities that require restraint.  Matt has started calling her "Jason Bourne" because of the deadly krav maga moves that she employs any time we get near her changing table.  When we try to buckle her into her car seat, she reaches up and hangs onto the grab handle in the roof as a last ditch effort for freedom.  I expect it's only a matter of time before I find a tattered diaper bag full of fake passports and foreign currency hidden amongst her board books and stacking cups.

Skirting: The Issue

This spring I took several garment sewing classes at my favorite local sewing shop, All Stitched Up.  I just learned last week that they are going out of business.  I'm so sad about losing such a great local resource and I will miss the friends I've made there.  On a brighter note... I plan to hit that liquidation sale hard! 

I really enjoyed the series of classes.  Before them,  I had really only been making clothes for the kids.  These classes focused on making clothing for myself.  We started with a simple pajama bottom and worked our way up through nightshirts, knit tops and blouses.  The classes gave me a lot of information and also the courage to start making more items for myself!

I wanted to make myself some fun summer skirts.  I used a very simple pattern (Simplicity # 2368) and had great results and a pretty good fit.  The skirts go together so quickly that I have now gotten myself into the habit of buying all sorts of fabric to make more.  My pile keeps growing.  I suppose I should stop typing and start sewing!

Why We Do What We Do

(You know you were wondering.)

Two months ago, I decided to paint the patio furniture that needed to be painted last summer.  Last month, I bought the paint.  Yesterday, I took the paint out of the garage.  And, today, I actually took the plunge and painted the furniture.  Aidan and Adelaide are never ones to miss out on a good painting project.  They were a little disappointed, though.  Addie wanted to use "dark sparkly pink" paint and Aidan wanted to paint clock parts all over the chairs.  In spite of these setbacks, the project went much better than what one would expect with the assistance of a five and three year old.

We did have a little trouble when the phrase, "You can paint IN your pig toes." was interpreted as, "You can paint your pig toes."  Other than that, things went smoothly.  Until the end. When another adult member of this household left a Sam's Club-sized bottle of dish detergent next to a giant inflatable pool and a running garden hose.  To quote Adelaide, "Mom, do you want to come see?  Now, don't get mad...".

I didn't get mad. (Well, at least not until they decided to build their own washing machine and things got WAY out of hand; but, that's another story, which may possibly be titled, "Why I've Put My Children Up for Adoption and Moved to a Desert Island").  I did, however, start to think about why we homeschool.  Most of my friends know that while we chose to homeschool Aidan for the past two years, it's not a decision that we made lightly.  We are not ardent defenders of homeschooling.  I love the public and private schools in our neighborhood and I believe our children would thrive there.  Matt and I have spent much of the past spring trying to decide what's best for our kids this fall and in the future.  

I'll admit to a daydream here and there about what my days could possibly be like if the kids were at school during the day.  I think I might have a little more time to accomplish some tasks.  I could probably plan for, shop for and perform a household chore all in the same week. Maybe.

But, I would dearly miss all the days like this one, with endless time to spend together, making messes, doing weird activities and having all sorts of crazy fun.  That's why we do what we do.  And, I'm not inclined to change any of it.