Green Smoothies

We've been on a bit of a smoothie kick around here.  

Our 'green' smoothies usually look more brown than green.  Poop colored sometimes, actually.  I tend to go heavier on the berries and a bit lighter on the greens since that seems to get the kids more interested.  We have, though, experimented with chard, kale, and spinach so far.  And amazingly, the kids have loved (most of) them.  Usually with a banana, a bunch of frozen strawberries, and some almonds or ground flax seed.

Today I was feeling a little anemic and remembered that to best absorb iron from these leafy greens you are supposed to add a little citrus.  This beautiful green came from a mix of a banana, an orange (peeled and dumped right in whole), about a third of a bag of spinach, and enough almond milk and water to blend it up nice and smooth.

I have to say I was incredibly surprised at how great it tasted!  The Dad declared it one of the best so far.  The kids drank it even though it obviously had 'leaves' in it.  I was scared to go so green - I don't like my smoothie tasting like salad - but am now looking forward to another one tomorrow for breakfast.

Just a little something going on around here right now...

It Is What It Is

Ollie has his last full day of Pre-School today.  Ella will be finished with first grade on Friday.  I stop, turn around, and ask myself where the time has gone.  Not just the last three months, but the year.  The days (most of them) have gone slowly but the school year has flown.

Last night, at our nursery school's last board meeting of the year, I passed on the duty of Board Chair to another parent.  After two years.  Two years full of a responsibility that at once fulfilled me and drove me mad.  Now I have summer vacation approaching - with no responsibilities except for my family and my house home.  That sounds a bit archaic, but I am really looking forward to it.

Eieio has been a bit on hold.  I did so well at the Germantown Friends School Craft Show that I ended up pulling out of the Art Star Craft Bazaar.  I saw how much inventory would need to be created in a short 8 weeks (otherwise occupied with two kid birthdays and two Spring Breaks) and chose sanity and family over the show.  While I missed it, I know I made the right decision.

I have also learned over the last couple years that not much sewing happens over the summer.  I am able to steal a bit of studio time here and there, but nothing I can count on.  Right now, I'd like to use that little bit of time for us.  There are so many things I want to make for the kids that keep being put off.

Both kids will be in school full time in September.  The same school, one school, one schedule that I am so excited about.  Then, I will open back up for business, committed to regular studio hours and finally moving forward...  I may also take a class or two.  The Dad wonders how long it will take before I am looking for something to do.

Right now, there is lots to do.  We have half prepped our bedroom for painting.  As we've been talking for three years now about going through the house room by room.  Our room will be first.  Soon.  I promise.

It's exciting, I think, our life right now.  It is not nearly as perfect as I would like it to be but we are so, so lucky and I am incredibly grateful.  And there is so much potential.  Right in this moment...

The Walk the Line Pants

Mid-construction, The Dad looked at these and said "Either no one is going to want to play with him when he wears those or the girls are going to be all over him." 

They walk that line.

Funky or Foolish?

They are made from an Alexander Henry Home Dec Weight fabric that feels like canvas.  Sturdy and rugged.  Depending on how I look at them, I think 'Cool' or 'Ronald McDonald'.

The bonus is that he loves them.

They have four pockets, which he was so excited about.  Next time, he wants six.  I turned the fabric 90 degrees for contrasting stripes.  I love creating little details like this.

Made from the Oliver + S Sandbox Pants pattern (with an elastic waist instead of the drawstring), I share with you O's new Walk the Line pants.  What do you think?

Oliver + S Reversible Bucket Hat

 I've taken a small break  from eieio sewing to do a little sewing of our own around here.  First up, the Reversible Bucket Hat from Liesl Gibson's Little Things to Sew.

My kids live in these hats in the summer time.  They started wearing these as infants - best baby sunhat ever - and moved into these last summer.  I am so excited to make my own with fun prints.

For this first one, O picked out his own fabrics.  He calls it his 'Night and Day' Hat - the white side for daytime and the black side for nighttime.  A boy of his own mind, he is...

It was actually pretty fun to make.  I'm always amazed at Liesl's little techniques for simple, quality construction.  The top of the black side of the hat is actually hand sewn on to finish it.  Can you tell?  I can't either!  I'm so proud...

Really, I cringe sometimes when I read that I need to hand-finish something -  but the more I do it, the easier it gets.  And this time?  Sunday night?  I thought "Woohoo!  Handsewing means I can actually watch TV at the same time!"  Yeah, my life is that exciting.

E's is up next - purple glittery flower fairies on one side and a new Amy Butler Soul Blossoms print on the other.  I want to make three for each of them.  Seriously, they live in them - and one inevitably gets lost at some point over the summer.  Summer is coming, right? 

Coming Up For Air

The Germantown Friends School Craft Show was fabulous.

So fabulous that I didn't have much left at the end.  

So fabulous that it has taken me a week to recover - The Dad came and helped out for a little bit at lunchtime and laughed at me afterwards - "I think you are a closet extrovert!"  I am SO not.  I love meeting people at the shows, though.  I could talk about fabric and the things I make, who people are and where they come from, forever.  But I will admit, it is exhausting.

But it is also always a reminder of what a small world it is, too.  It's neat to meet people who own one my dresses already.  There are enough of them around that it happens at every local show, now.  Some have bought directly from me, some have bought in a local shop, and some have received as gifts.  I love it.

This show had even a bigger 'small world' oddity - It turned out that the woman doing publicity for the show is an old friend and neighbor of Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S (who I love and have done a couple workshops with) and that her daughters are in Liesl's book (which have finished my first project from - pictures tomorrow!) - so we marvelled about that through e-mail beforehand.  But then she brought her husband over to meet me at the preview party and we started talking.  Turns out we grew up in the same area of Minneapolis and went to the same elementary school!  A rare find here in Philadelphia...

So I really do love these weekends.  Even if they take me a week to recover from!

An Office Chair for O

I took O to Ikea yesterday after school. Which can be a bit painful if I actually want to browse. But this time I just needed coat hangers. And a couple vases for a booth display idea I had.  Which meant we really just needed to visit the Children's section and then head out.

In the middle of the Children's section (literally - sitting in the middle of an aisle) sat a child-sized office chair.  Oh, the exclamations of excitement.  "It's just like Dad's!"  It swiveled.  It had a lever that made it go up and down.  It fit him perfectly.  And it had a big sticker on it that said it was from the As Is section and was previously a floor model/display and was marked down.

As he sat and swiveled, a salesperson came over.  She had never seen one before.  She didn't know they carried those.  She looked like she was going to take it if I told O no.

I don't very often buy the kids things just because they ask for them.  But really, this was just cool.  And less than $14 dollars.  And actually useful.  I put it in the cart.  Ollie sat on it.  In the cart.  For the rest of the shopping trip.

We were stopped again by another staff person on our way out.  Where did we find it?  A child size office chair?  They'd never seen it before either.

So I checked online when I got home.  And found this.  It turns out it is not actually 'child-size', though it fits perfectly and is just right for his art table, and can be found with all the other office chairs.  It is noted on the Ikea website to be 'appropriate for children'.  For O, it is perfect. Score.

{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.

Hello, Old Friend

A couple months ago, after much wanting to add new designs, I stopped making new Reversible Roundabout Dresses.  You see, I had run into an interesting dilemma.  They kept selling.  So I kept making more.  Which meant that I didn't really do anything else.  Don't get me wrong.  I love making these dresses.  And of course, I love shopping for the fabric that they are made out of (definitely my favorite part of all this), but I really wanted to do something different for a little while.

So I stopped.

I had a good inventory stocked up and figured I had some time to deplete that before I would need to make more.

Instead, I made Treasure Totes.  And Lunchbox Napkins.  And started making Twirly Skirts.

And now, with the GFS Craft Show looming, I took stock and realized that I actually needed to make a few more Reversible Roundabouts.

So, I've been ironing and cutting.  Yesterday I did the first set of sewing.  And honestly?  It felt like coming home.  I know these curves.  My hands know them.  My machine knows them.  I've missed them.

So it was nice to visit them again.  Just a couple for now, but I hear them calling me.  Just in time to get ready for summer.

The List

Every morning I wake up with a list in my head.  A litany, if you will.  Before I even open my eyes, it is there.  What I want to do that that day.  What I want to do better.

• Sew
• Take Pictures
• Post something in my Etsy Shop
• Make the space I live in more beautiful (and/or organized) than it was the day before
• Eat healthier
• And less
• Exercise
• Be a better parent
• Be more patient with my kids
• Blog
• Be present
• Appreciate the Day

Some days I'm better than others.  Some days I feel like I've done more.  Done better.

I used to worry that waking up with this list meant that I wasn't getting any of it done.  But I'm coming to realize that it is part of recognizing that every day is new.  And every day is a fresh start.  And every day I have another chance to try a little harder.

What's on your list?

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.