Scotty's Hobbies

Tommy goes to a Montessori school, and they have a 'wish list'.  I went over to an online Montessori store to buy one of the items off their wish list, where I found their sister-site, For Small Hands.  The prices were actually very reasonable, and so I picked up a few things for the boys to play with.  I love many things about Montessori learning, not the least of which is that so much of the early education is about household play, and the older kids do a lot of work with textiles. 

But it's not just "pretend household" stuff, it's stuff you can really use!  A clothesline with tiny, working clothes pins.  *sigh*  Or, safety knives for cutting vegetables.  :)  Every morning, Scotty comes out to the kitchen and says, "What are you making today, Mommy?"  When I tell him what I'm cooking, he says, "I'm going to make something yummy too!" and then he runs back to his room (where his kitchen is) and whips up a picnic basket full of tasty...fake food....and then we all have to say, "Mmmmm!  Yummy!" and pretend to eat sushi.  Good times.

At the Montessori store, though, they had a baking set that had miniature functioning pans!  And a tiny wooden rolling pin!  And a chef's hat!  Awww, yeaaahhhhh! 

The set even came with scaled down recipes, that made the perfect amount of batter to use the tiny bundt-cake pan or the muffin tins!

The first thing he made was a couple dozen carrot muffins.  He 'helps' all the time in the kitchen, but there was a special kind of pride involved here; he really understood that this was all him, start to finish!

 I'm sorry, but...Pardon me while I swoon.  Those folded hands in his lap?  His tiny feet?   Pressed up against the window, watching his muffins bake?  Where are my salts?

Those muffins were delicious!  Tiny, tiny, bite-sized goodness, and he couldn't have been cuter.

That is, he couldn't be cuter unless you caught up with him while he was enjoying his second favorite hobby...  The doll house.  My boy is so domestic!

 He and I have spent countless hours playing with our house!  We like to set up the whole house, and we're both obsessed with the 'details'...where should this potted plant go?  Which rooms should have the clocks?  Let's make a new blanket for the crib!  Oh, boy!!  Once we have the house just so, we like to think about what everybody is doing.  

Scotty usually puts both babies and both kids in the big play room.  That's a happening spot, to be sure!  He puts Mommy in the kitchen and Daddy is either in bed or on the couch.  Hmmmm.....

After an hour of playing, he usually stands next to me and starts telling me where to put things, and what should be happening.  "No, put that baby in the crib.  Take that one out!  Put the other one in.  Mommy is at the stove, not the refrigerator.  Move the shower over here.  Why don't you put two toilets in the bathroom?  That table is too small.  Put her at the desk."

Once we get to this phase of the festivities, I know it's time to put our toys down for a while.  Last thing I need is a four year old pecking at my neck.

Asking for It

(Blurry) Photo by Scotty

It is very hard (nearly impossible) for me to ask you for help.  I've always been like that.  No matter how hard things get for me, no matter how hard I have to work at something, no matter how much I wish I had some help, those things do not matter because when push comes to shove, I just keep my head down and push through because I don't even know how to ask for help.  (Honesty here:  My inability to ask you for help does not stop me from becoming so resentful that you have not offered to help ~ can't you see I'm suffering! ~ that I ultimately end up demanding your service in a most unkind, embittered way.  I'm awesome, obviously.)

It was Easter weekend when I started to see the light.  The day before Easter, I stopped at a thrift store.  I seriously needed a rolling pin, as the cheap plastic one I'd been using for 15 years finally broke.  So I hopped out the car, said "rolling pin" out loud, and walked into the store...where I found a perfect wooden rolling pin for 70 cents.  Hmmmm.....

Yesterday,  Tommy and I were at the grocery store picking up a few things (including new lightbulbs....$60 on lightbulbs!!!) and I was thinking about how I really wanted to clean out and organize the pantry in the kitchen and the food cupboard in the garage.  (Mission accomplished, by the way.)  I was also thinking about how I had read somewhere that bakeries will sometimes give away food storage buckets, if you ask.  If you ask.  So I did!  You would not believe what it took for me to ask, and she started out telling me no, we usually re-use those buckets, so I smiled and said thanks but then she said, "Well, let me look, because we might have an extra."  And she did!  So I now have a perfect food-quality bucket to store dried beans in the pantry.

My mom will ask you for help.  Except she's not really "asking", if you get my drift.  That woman knows how to get her needs met, let me tell you, I did not inherit this (annoying) trait from her.  And so we come to the table in the picture at the top.  On Easter, apparently buzzing from my rolling pin high the day before, I told my mom that I was looking for a small-ish table that would fit at the edge of my kitchen island.  I needed it to be lower than the counter, so that I could use it for kneading bread and rolling out doughs.  A plain, wooden table, please, that would be great.

She said she sees a lot of those around, and she'd keep her eyes peeled.  Thanks, ma!  Not an hour later, I turned the corner out of her dining room and found the perfect table in her front entry!  It sits behind the door when it opens, so who knows how long it was there before I noticed it? 

"That's it!  That's the table!"  I told her.  And I was so excited that, before I even thought twice, I bleated out, "Can I have that?"  Well, it turns out, I could have it.  I've used it every day since, too!  

It was rainy that day, and it was dark when we were leaving, so Erik said to just forget it and pick it up later.  But my brother, who was well-trained by my mom, followed me into the wet night and loaded it into the back of the van...without me even asking him to.  Love that guy!

Funny about my mom:  Before the table even left the house, she had it replaced with another smaller table, a rocking chair, and a dried flower arrangement.  Holy!  Could you imagine being able to "shop" in your own house like that?    Also:  I asked her where she got this table, and she said, "Oh, you wouldn't believe it...your Grandmother had it in that shed behind her house in Fremont!  It was covered with paint cans, so I asked her if I could take it.  I cleaned it all up, and put these new handles on the drawers!"

She's good.  Did I mention she is not shy to ask? 

Now.  Asking for help is not the same as asking for "stuff", but I do consider these small victories over the last couple of weeks to be a giant leap forward.  Shower me with riches, people.

Swap ~ Part II

I left this bundle on the living room floor, ready to be boxed and taken to the post office in the morning.  It proved to be far too tempting for My Monster.  I was awakened early the next morning by Scotty, shyly standing at my bedside, holding up a small book and a...what is that?  A pencil?  Does he want me to write him a story?  I was still half asleep, coming up slowly, until I realized what he was really holding...then I woke up right away!

"Scotty," I started, "Please put those back, and please don't open any more presents!  Those presents are not for you, they are for mommy's friend."  (the scrapbook glitter pack, 'create' stickers, and the shawl pin!)

The problem was, of course, that no four year old on the planet understands the words "presents" and "not for you" when juxtaposed in this fashion.

By the time I made it out to the living room, My Poor Monster was frantically trying to rewrap the presents he had already opened.  What a cutie pie!  "Thank you, Monster, for helping Mommy!  You are such a good wrapper!"

I made Carmen these for her classroom.  One is a banner with her name on it for her classroom (I edited out the letters that spell her last name, for privacy).  The other is an apron with cupcakes all over it, and the accent fabric there is brown with tiny white polka dots.  I've actually got plans to make a banner for my own classroom now!  I'll put my name on it of course (haha!) but I won't need to make such an apron for myself because Carmen took care of that for me!  For the banner I followed the instructions from Stitched in Time and I used the apron instructions from Bend the Rules Sewing. 

I need to let you know, should you and I ever participate in a swap together in the future, that I am, apparently, the kind of person who sends you an item that requires ironing.  Ugh!  Sorry, Carmen!  Every time I folded this thing, I had to iron it!  There's no way it came out of that box without needing a steam.  Hopefully once it's hanging up it will stay wrinkle free...

I made these for her.  She likes owls so I made this little clutch using the instructions, again, from Bend the Rules Sewing.  What can I say?  I have limited sewing chops!

I had made Carmen this shawl....and when I was done, I of course had to make one for myself!  Hmmmm.... are you sensing a theme here at all?!?  I keep making things for her that I end up wanting for myself! 

I'm not sure what happened to the orientation on this picture!  But I made these for her home.  They are actually placemats, which I made using my fancy method for crocheting with strips for fabric.  They could also be used as chair pads at the kitchen table, which I think would be super cute.  In fact....I think I may need to make some chair pads for my kitchen table!  ;)

And that's that!  Carmen wrote me the sweetest thank you note, and you can see Big Bunny actually fashioning some of these items over at her blog.  This was so fun to do, but especially because I was doing it for Carmen.  I think if you tallied the number of items I plan to and/or have already made for myself based on the items I made for her swap, I think you can begin to understand how much we have in common!   Including...a deadline for a swap that turns out to be plus/minus 30 days!  lol   Thanks again, Carmencita!

Pardon Me While I Gush?

 Carmen sent the sweetest care package, and I've been having so much fun with all the crafty-goodness!   She is so dang funny...that little post-it note says "Yay!  Plastic bags :)  Hope you like them.  Just kiddin".  ha!  I was cracking up, because yes, indeed, the treasures were packed in amongst some plastic grocery store bags.  ha!  Cutie-pie.

Speaking of cutie, she completely constructed and decorated this little box ~ with compartments! and wee little pin cushion! and buttons! ~ out of plastic canvas.  Really, now!  Some people are so clever.  :)  And thoughtful too!  Look at Tippy the Turtle!  He grows 600% when you put him water (which I can attest, is true) and she sent it along knowing that my boys would love it.  Too true.

You know, there was a time in my adolescence when I went through a "phase" where I used a bunch of little boxes like this to organize the drawers in my dressers and desk.  Everything had to have a little nest.  Goodness...what would I give to have that kind of time on my hands now?  As things stand, this little fellow sits on my sewing table and, because it is totally stocked for quick mends and buttons, it will no doubt save me time (and my sanity) in the very near future.  For now, just sit there looking adorable, please.

Could you just die?  Seriously.  An amigurumi turtle and this custom-made post-it dispenser...they are going on to my desk at school immediately.  Do you love that little "B"?  It's for my last name!  It's funny, because Carmen and I kept laughing about all our similarities, and all the funny little ways that we'd "accidentally" hit on each others' quirks and preferences.  This was definitely one of those cases!  I am obsessed with post-it notes.  Any office supplies, really, but my extensive post-it note collection (which knows no bounds on color, size, and shape) is impressive to say the least.  Good call, Carmen! 

But this turtle takes the cake...I think he's flirting with me.

One of my favorites (oh, really, they're all favorites!) and for many reasons.  First of all, they are perfect little coasters.  Second of all, they have this mountain/Colorado theme, which will always remind me of Carmen.  And last but NOT least...they are something made out of something else!  I LOVE something made out of something else!  These used to be a tea towel (the fabric is fantastic, trust me) and she thrifted it and made it into these coasters.  Swoon!

Yes, it's still going!  This was a box packed with cute, let me tell you.  She made these cards!  I can tell you for free, scrapbooking and card making are an art...ones that I have no access to, by the way.  These cards are very stylish, too, with a little fold over (do you see the turtle button on the green one?!?) and the sweetest details.

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about.  See the "s" on "thanks"?  When you look closely, you'll see that the 's' sticker is upside down.  It's such a small detail, but doesn't it add a lot of personality?  I love stuff like that!  And, I appreciate it even more, because I know from experience that whatever that bone is, that says "this would be visually so interesting if I just _____"....that bone?  I don't own it.  But I know it when I see it.  Love these cards!  I'll eventually use them (not the turtle though!  I'm going to frame him!) because that's why she made them, but I'm going to hold onto them for as long as possible first.  What?

I know, can you believe it?  Still more!

I pulled this apron out of the box (kick pleat!  look at those fabrics!) and I tied it on, and literally, I haven't taken it off.  I am wearing it right now as I type this.  I've worn it every day since she sent it.  I think it's adorable!

Didn't she just nail it!  So much functional beauty, so quirky, so incredibly crafty and creative.  I love everyday things that are made to inspire, to be used (for sure!) but also to be appreciated.  And I do!  I appreciate her thoughtfulness so much.

Happy sigh!!!!  Tomorrow I'll share what I sent her, too.
Edited to Add:  Carmen wrote the best backstories for all the swap items at her blog!  You can find it here,  and these stories make me love each item even more, if that's at all possible....

Lines

There are a lot of people where I live, and I assure you that they are all in my way, all the time.  Whenever I'm checking out at the grocery store, or the local Costco, or switching lanes to get to the FastTrak terminal on any of the three bridges I'm routinely crossing, I see these people....  They are all jockeying for position, willing to go to any extreme to get one car-length ahead of me or anybody else.

Everyone is trying to make sure that they aren't in the slowest line, the longest line, the worst position for whatever the current circumstances dictate.  They will run over your cat, flip your mother the bird, honk in your ear (making you jump out of your skin) and cut you off so hard that your arm instinctively flies out (to save nobody, usually, since your kids will all be in the backseat) as you slam on your brakes.

I could save these jackasses a lot of time, a lot of frustration, and a lot of heartache.  Because the truth is?  No matter which line/lane I'm in?  I can guarantee that it will be the longest and slowest moving. 

Here is my advice, and I promise you that it will add years to your life:  Stay out of my line/lane, and you will sail through, unhindered by my bad luck.

So much to share! Let's Start with Easter

We spent a quiet (except for my kids), rainy, perfectly lovely Easter at my mom and dad's house with my brother.  We didn't even hunt for eggs ~ believe me, a first in my lifetime!  My boys dyed some eggs that morning (*cough*) but we never got outside at all.  I think we'll have an egg hunt later this week, weather permitting.  Of course, if the hail yesterday was any indication, it could be awhile.

When we go camping, I often bring those plastic eggs that people sometimes use for jelly beans or to put coins in?  And I hide those and the kids look for them.  Sometimes, I put little toys in them, and hide them when they're asleep.  Then, in the morning I tell the boys that the forest animals left them presents and they find them all and spend the rest of the day using pine cones to construct makeshift homes for miniature animals, or digging out wee little burms for the cars they've found to race around.  Good times.

Point being, neither of my kids thinks it's weird at all to randomly have an egg hunt!  Why limit these celebrations to the holidays, that's our philosophy.  I'm all about the food on the holidays, and this year I have some rather fun news to report on that front!

Food poisoning.  Aw, yeah!  Erik and I (only Erik and I!  What the what?) both started feeling sick on the way home from my mom and dad's.  And both of us were violently ill for 24 hours.  Erik was way worse off than I was.  Whatever it was, he must have eaten more of it than I did!  We don't think it was anything from Easter, but maybe the day or night before?  We mentally ran through a list of what we'd eaten over the entire weekend, cross-correlating for what we had in common, eliminating what didn't make anybody else who ate it sick, and in the end...we couldn't find a single culprit.  I assure you, though, that it was not in our heads.

I was in charge of the desserts, and we have no reason to believe that the strawberry bread or the cinnamon twists were to blame.  Thankfully!

I am on Spring Break this week with My Boys, and as of today we are all set to enjoy the rest of our time together.  When my brother heard I was on Spring Break, he rather drolly inquired as to whether that meant I would disappear from my blog for a week...again.  Wait.  What?  He reads it!  I'm so excited!   The whole reason I started this blog was so that friends and fam could see pictures of the boys and keep up with our little lives.  I even have a link to this thing in my Facebook.  It's not a secret journal!  So, sometimes, I'll be talking to somebody in Real Life, and I'll say, "oh there are pictures of Tommy doing that on the blog" or something similar, and the responses I get have been....mixed.  Most people say something along the lines of, "Oh, I went and looked at that once and _______ ".  Fill in the blank with "it exhausted me" or "then I forgot about it" or "I couldn't figure out why you do that".  Or some other uplifting comment that lets me know how compelling my life is for my loved ones!  haha!  Everyone else says something like, "I don't even know how to check my email."  What can I say?  I know an inordinate number of Luddites.

Anyway, this one's for you, J-Bird!  And, all kidding aside, for all my lovely friends (bloggy and Real World alike) who visit here and invite me in to visit them, too.  My life is so much better because of you!  Maybe my life is not so great that you feel like reading about it, but that's a story for another day.  :)

One Little League Game Later

Carmen offered to do a "swap" several months ago, and I hurriedly volunteered....I just love to read Carmen's blog (note to Carmen:  please update daily) and after some sleuthing (read: exchanging emails) I knew lots about her likes and dislikes, her address in Colorado, and we even had a deadline date.  March 1st, to be exact.

Here it is, April 1st, and I'm finally sending out her package.  Hoo-boy.  One month late!  Part of the problem is that I wanted to sew some stuff, and I'm not a good sewer.   The other part of the problem is, well, I'm me.  I'll post some pictures of what I worked on, but I'll wait until after I know she got the box.

In the meantime, here is a (kind of!) picture of me wearing a shawl I made at the baseball game last Saturday.  That's right, you heard me, this shawl* was started and finished in about 3 hours.  What what!  I am kind of in love with it, and I was even able to enjoy it on the breezy, sunny days that started this week.  For the last two days I've been holed up under layers of fleece, blankets, and wool socks, preparing for the flash floods.  Out like a huh?

I just love this yarn.  It's no special fiber, but it's soft and I just adore that brick-orange color.  (I have no idea who makes it, or anything else, because I bought a few skeins second hand, and they were not labeled.)  And, because I used  2 skeins to make this shawl, it must be noted that it cost less than $1.00 in materials.  Which is good, because I spent about $20 on that shawl pin when I was in Ashland, Oregon last summer.

Thus, we conclude, with one of the (many) paradoxes of being me...frugal; except not....especially when it's cute.  :)

*  The pattern is free.  You have to 'sign up', but it's nothing and they've never spammed me or anything like that.  The shawl worked up FAST and easy.  They have it listed as 'intermediate', but it was super easy, so I would recommend it even to a beginner.  There was a wee bit of controversy in the comments about how small it worked up for some folks.  I used N hook with normal worsted weight yarn (on the thin side, if anything) and it was fine.  Keep your tension loose, that might solve it!  It's meant to be lacy, so don't be too stingy with your stitches.  If it seems small to you, there are suggestions in the comments on how to continue the pattern.  Still easy!  So I declare.