Snow Day v4.0

The Dad is a much better Snow Day parent than I am.  Unfortunately, as we began what felt like our umpteenth snow day this week, he headed to the train for a day full of meetings downtown.

For me, a snow day means hot chocolate and popcorn and snuggling under a blanket with a good movie or book.

For my kids, it means (and it should mean) lots of time spent playing outside.  This also means lots of changing into and out of the necessary accoutrement that go along with that outside play.  Mittens (there are never enough dry mittens), snow pants, boots (that must be tucked into those snow pants appropriately), hats, dry socks...  You get the gist.

While I don't love playing out in the snow, I do love watching the kids do it.  And I love what they come up with on the blank canvas of our whited out yard.  Today it was 'snow beds', dug out of the foot deep snow and outfitted with 'snow pillows'.  And, of course, paths connecting those snow beds with the other various attractions built up in the yard.

We attempted a snow man.  While the snow appeared perfectly weighted and sticky, the balls just didn't build up - crumbling in our hands instead of packing.  So we made a small snow man.  With the fabulous juxtaposition of eyes made out of shells from our beach vacation in Florida.

The Dad was worried that, moving here from Minnesota, the kids would miss out on 'real' winter and the snow play that he loves.  No worries, Dad...  No worries.

Twirl On

Sometimes, the best laid plans...  Is that how it begins?  And then life happens.  And so does the flu.  And snow days...

I've been cranking away at the Twirly Skirts for the GFS Craft Show.  My goal had been 15, but work time has been short changed over the last couple weeks and I am actually pretty happy with nine right now.  Well, eight and a half at this moment.  Nine by the time my head hits the pillow tonight.

It is here that I struggle with the idea of production.  And how much time I can dedicate.  And how I want to spend the little bit of the time that I have.

So, every once in a while, I do a little re-evaluating.  And I keep coming to the same conclusion: I do really enjoy this.  And while I would love to be sewing O another pair of pants right now instead of one more Twirly Skirt, I am still having fun.  And am really looking forward to the Craft Show (that is just coming up way too fast).  And I am tweaking and improving both my designs and my skills.  Which makes me feel productive, even if a bit slower than I had planned.

But if there is one thing I have learned as a parent, it is that as much as you plan, things rarely go how you expect.  And you can plan for contingencies out the wazoo, but it's not really worth the time and energy.  So I'm learning to plan a bit, hope for the best, appreciate what I have, celebrate when things go well, and just...  well...  Twirl On.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual of SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inside Play

The weather here has been a little cruddy wavering between frozen and slushy.  Given that, on top of school's-out snow days and The Dad and I being felled by the flu, and there's been a lot more inside play here lately.

E has learned French Knitting (or Corking).  So have I.  I like it. And the idea that you can take these tubes and sew them into something.  But for us right now?  We just have tubes and grand visions of what they could become.  Any of suggestions of what we can really do with them?

For O, who it is a little harder to occupy these days, we have rediscovered the games cupboard.  As long as he has your undivided attention, he could sit forever playing games and doing puzzles.  Now just to get him to be a little bit more independent in occupying his time!  I would be a much happier (and productive) Mama.

Some activities take a little more attention.

 

And some are a little messier.  After seeing how the food coloring stained their skin (and my napkins!), I shudder at the thought of what if could do to their insides...

Word on the street is there may be another snow day for him and another 2-hour delay for her tomorrow.  Really?  The director of our nursery school said this morning "You'd think we live in Minnesota!"

Definitely not.  In Minnesota, they wouldn't keep canceling school school.

Bring Them to the Ocean

 

I grew up by the ocean.

I've been away for so long that I sometimes forget the magic that it holds.

Until I roll down the window, as we approach, and breathe in the salt air. 

To me, it feels like home.

And then to watch my children explore and enjoy it...  I am reminded of how important it is for kids to experience this.  Even if it is only once. 

The lapping of the water on the shore.  The shocking cold if that first dip. The endless horizon before you.

The collecting of shells and building of sand castles.  Leaving footprints and watching them wash away.

The more you have it, the harder it is to go without.

We are already planning our next trip.

Design Week at Casa C

So last week the kids went back at school and my New Year officially began.  We were away for the week between Christmas and New Years so there was a little re-acclimation going on over the weekend.  My goal for that first week was to create a sample of the skirt I will be making for the Germantown Friends Craft Show in March.  For over a year, I have been wanting to add a design for older girls to my collection of standards.  Yet I have just kept making the Reversible Roundabouts because people love them.  And they keep selling.

This year I told myself I was going to take a break from the Reversible Roundabouts and come up with some new designs.  Last week turned into Design Week in the studio.  I posted Monday on Facebook (eieio is on Facebook now!) that I was heading into the studio to start a batch of Storybook Skirts.  Based on a design I did a long time ago - a simple skirt with an attached apron.  As I started constructing it, I changed my mind.  And changed my mind again.  What came out of the studio on Thursday is the new Twirly Skirt.  Which I am very happy with.

I think one of the things I struggle with in a design is keeping it simple in a way that allows the design to show off the fabric. And the child wearing it. Because really, to me, that's what it's all about.  I used to love the boutique look, but lots of ruffles and layers don't excite me as much anymore.  And really (again) eieio is about keeping kids looking like kids.  Clothes they can play in and clothes that they love.  And clothes that are easy to put on, take off, and wash.  Right?

Looking for the Quiet

 In November, I had grand plans for December.  I was going to bake and sew and string cranberries and popcorn.  There were going to be handmade teacher gifts and mama-made clothes under the tree.  The house was going to be peaceful, joyful, and holiday-laden.

 And somehow, life happened.  And my last free days while O was in school were suddenly so overscheduled I felt like I was being pulled in ten different directions and getting nothing done.

And I searched for the quiet where I could find it and promised myself it would come.

And you know what?  Today is December 22nd.  I was up (happily) at 6am making pumpkin muffins for Ella to take in for the teachers and staff at her school.  It is just after 10 and I have sat and read with O, needle felted my first little ladybug, and sewn cloth Christmas bags to put some gifts under the tree.

O is playing quietly by himself with a fusion of Playmobil, blocks, and The Dad's old GI Joe vehicles.  The house is quiet.  And all is good.  It's a little late, but it is here.  And I am oh. so. content...

O's New Favorite Pants

 

I love that O loves for me to sew for him.  The glee, the pride, the desire.

I took Liesl's sewing-with-knits class last weekend and came away with a pair of the Nature Walk Pants for him and an almost finished nightgown for E.  I used Michael Miller's new-ish Interlock Knit and while it was challenging, it wasn't bad!

O had the pants out of my bag before I even got into the car and had them on in less time than it took to fill the tank at the gas station.

They are his new favorites.  They are oh so soft and comfy.  He wore them for three days before I wrangled them away for the wash and asks for them every morning (unfortunately they haven't actually made it into the machine yet!)

Two more pairs are in the works.  One in a solid black and the other in a brown stripe.  They come together in less than an hour and I figure the more I practice sewing with this fabric, the better I'll get, right?

Somehow I Missed November

Somehow, I missed November.  Life got busy around here.  I did a big show at our local Waldorf School the weekend before Thanksgiving and at the last minute we ended up traveling for the holiday.  I told myself that things would quiet down after that, but they haven't really.  And somehow I am feeling even busier and overscheduled now than I was before.  And now it is December.

We have begun the tradition since moving here (this will be our fourth Christmas back on the East Coast!) of cutting down our own Christmas tree at a local orchard.  It's not quite the taking-a-sled-out-into-the-woods-on-a-snowy-day-and-dragging-home-a-tree that I had envisioned, but it has become its own family tradition for us.

At O's nursery school yesterday, they began talking about holiday traditions and things we all do that could be shared with the school.  Kids spoke about lighting the menorah or the advent wreath, sledding, and getting a Christmas Tree.  They also talked about Advent Calendars (which I am a little behind on this year and need to hang this morning!).  O raised his hand and said that one of our traditions is roasting marshmallows...  What?

But really, it is.  The orchard where we cut down our tree has a small bonfire where you wait to get on the hayride out to the trees.  They have benches, hot chocolate, and marshmallows for roasting.  So, in that little 4 year old brain of his, it is a tradition because every year, when we go to cut down our tree, they get to roast marshmallows. It may not be as heartfelt or reverent as lighting the menorah or an advent wreath but, evidently, it is tradition.

What is your favorite tradition of this holiday season?

The Halloween Costumes - The Snow Queen

Growing up, my mom made all our our Halloween costumes.  Every year, I think about what I can make but more often than not have ended up buying.  I think it's always a struggle finding the balance between cost and time...  and cost.

Last year, O wanted to be a puppy dog.  I figured I could easily build a costume off of a hoodie and sweatpants.  That I could find pretty cheap.  So we walked into Old Navy and right into their Halloween display.  Hmmm...  $20 for a super cute (and warm) monkey costume?  Or that much for the sweats plus whatever the rest of the materials would cost plus my time.  Honestly?  I bought the monkey costume but over a year later still kind of wished I had made what he wanted.

This year, E wanted to be a Snow Queen.  Complete with cape.  I told her we could put it together from most of what we had.  Plus some not-too-expensive extras and a handmade cape.  She really got into it.  The Snow Queen had to have long brown hair, though.  And tap shoes.

I was able to talk her out of the tap shoes and we went with standard Target silver glitter flats (like the ruby red slippers).  I also found an 'alluring' long brown wig that once worn looked a little more Lil' Abner than fancy fairy tale character, but...

And I made her a cape.  Which was much more expensive than I had planned but which I loved making and which we will have for a long time.

And while she looked nothing like the original costume she spied in a catalog, she loved it.  And I will always remember this one.