Making a Minion

 So Ollie really wanted to be a Minion for Halloween. He was set on it and didn't even want to consider anything else.

 That was at the beginning of October. We searched the internet for ideas. He really wanted something realistic - it had to have the shape of a minion. None of this yellow swim cap and homemade goggles...

We found some ideas making the top out of paper mache. Formed over a physio ball. It was looking more and more complicated and more and more expensive. Maybe we could use a bowl - a ball would make the frame bigger than necessary. He's only 7 and pretty lanky...

Then in the middle of October we found this.  There we got the idea of using a bullet trash can. As the end of October neared, we started looking for an inexpensive trash can in that style. This proved much more difficult than expected! Not at Target... Not at our local hardware store that usually has everything...

We were getting down to the wire. I suggested to Ollie that maybe we could come up with something else that he could be for Halloween since we might not get to make the Minion costume in time. He cried. I found the trash can at Home Depot for $13 on the 28th.

The Dad cut off the bottom and cut the holes out the night of the 29th. I spent the 30th making the body and the head - going through almost a whole bag of hot glue sticks. I made the overalls on the 31st and attached the hair 5 minutes before we left the house for trick-or-treating.

Visibility was a little limited, but he had a blast. I think my favorite part was the little boy we ran into who kept yelling 'MINION' and hugging him...

Now we have a life size Minion sitting on our porch. Ollie wants to save it. I'm not sure he'll still fit in it next year. He wants to set it up in his room for decoration but the bottom is soft since the foam and fabric hang down below the can frame. After dedicating two days to it, I don't really just want to trash it. Any suggestions?

Six Years

Six Years. Six years ago today we drove into Philly and closed on our house. Our 100+ year old house. Our kids were 18 months and almost 3 1/2 years old.

I've been reading old posts over the last couple days from this blog and an older one I had. I've been thinking about why I don't write in this space any more even though I miss it.

I realized that part of it is because my kids are older. At 7 and 9 they are not 'cute' and 'little' anymore. My fourth grader has body odor. My 2nd grader has just realized that he and his sister are not actually equal - that she is older and gets to stay up later and do more things. And he doesn't like that one bit.

I read some posts to them last night and showed them some pictures. Ollie asked if I would keep writing about what he does so that when he's older he can look at it and remember.

I was reminded that every day is still a project. A process. This project of parenting. This house. Discovering who we are and who we want to be. Striving to live more simply and create some semblance of calm and peace in our home.

I haven't been making anything lately, either. Unless you count my first attempt at coconut macaroons last night. And I really miss it. eieio is going by the wayside - with just a few pieces left to post in the shop and give as gifts. I am not doing any craft shows this season. I love sewing but I don't always love making the same things over and over again. I miss sewing for my family. I look at those old pictures and the kids are wearing things I've made. I remember for a while whenever Ollie would get something new - no matter where it came from - he would ask me "Who made this?". As I have stepped away from creating, they think less of it in their every day lives. I don't like that.

So The Dad and I have a list of projects for the next couple months. Lots of work on the house - fun stuff like carpeting and painting. But also things like finally sewing Ollie's curtains (for which I've had the fabric for a year and a half).

And we're changing the way we are parenting. Growing with our kids. Teaching them to be more independent so that, some day, when they go off into the world without us they will have a little bit of an idea of what they are doing.

I'm going to try again to share some of that here. I'm not making any promises but I'm hopeful... We'll see.

Overscheduled

We've had a rough month or two around here. Tempers are short. Kids are tired. No one is getting to bed on time very often.

And I've realized that as we are counting down to the last day of school (17 days!), I am also counting down the last days of all of the kids' various activities. One more Girl Scout Meeting, two more Circus classes, two more swimming lessons, one last baseball game...

Looking back, I can see the tipping point - where things went awry. That would be when baseball began. We did okay with a couple after school activities but adding Baseball to the mix did us in. Two practices per week. 1-2 games per week. Practices that run from 530-715 on a school night. When our kids are usually in bed by 730. For our just-turned-7-year-old it has been too much. And has rippled through the rest of the house.

So we are excited for summer to come, but we have also been re-examining our plans for the Fall and what the kids will be involved in. The problem is that there is SO MUCH they want to do. "If you get to choose TWO activites to do at a time..."  "Drama Club and Circus Class." "Oh and soccer - Dad wants to coach." That's not two...

How did we get here? With something every. single. day? And how do we pull back? So that I don't spend every afternoon rushing them to do their homework so we have time to read before bed? My kids - all kids, really - are so much happier when they have time to just play, or hang out, or read, or go to bed early...

So we are going to try that 'two activities at a time' in the fall. And we are going to cherish our unscheduled summer (with just a couple weeks of camp scattered in there) and see if we can't reclaim our balance. All of us.

Running

I've started running. Before today, I would have more called it walk/running but today I feel like I can actually call what I am doing 'running'. And I feel like the more people I tell, the more I will be held accountable and the more likely I am to follow through with it. So I'm saying it here!

I have never been a runner. Even in elementary school, when we did laps around the gym? I walked as much as I ran. Organized sports? I usually played defense, partly so I didn't have to chase anyone. But I've always loved the idea of it. And I am really enjoying it so far.

I am fortunate to live near the largest urban park in the world. Why run on sidewalk and pavement when you can run on Forbidden Drive, along the Wissahickon Creek, in what feels like the middle of the woods? It is a beautiful way to start the day.

I'm following the Couch to 5K program and trying to choose a 5K to run in a couple months. The colorful ones (Color Me Rad, The Color Run) look really fun and laid back but I don't know how I feel about inhaling the gallons of colored cornstarch they bomb you with. The coolest one I've seen so far?  The Zombie Run. Unfortunately there's no way in hell I'm going to be ready for that in three weeks. Maybe next year...

All Kinds Of Awesomeness Around Here

As Ella is getting ready to turn 9, I see this shift happening.  To 'Tween'ness.  And sometimes it makes me sad. There are still moments of unbridled awesomeness around here, though, to be found and cultivated.
 
Following the extra-loud, nasally honkytonk singing through the house to the kitchen the other day, I found this:

 

And instead of telling her to get off the table, I laughed and told her I loved her.  And listened to her sing her crazy song about when she is an old woman, Playing the guitar cutting board that usually hangs on the kitchen wall...

Happy March - and the Tea Party Doll Dress

Somehow I've stopped carrying my camera around with me over the last couple months. And while I enjoy being in the moment a bit more and not behind the lens, I feel like I'm missing something. So I'm signing up for a photography class to see if I can do something about that. And paying for a photography class? Means I need to get back in the studio! Which I have also been neglecting since I finished the Waldorf Fair last November. What? It's March already? Okay, I'm ready for Spring. And clear skies, warm weather, and that feel of new beginnings.

I did at least get in the studio for long enough to sew a doll dress. Which of course then led to Ella asking for a matching one for her. In a different print - which means I need to make another doll one. They actually come together very easily. I love the way it flairs out a bit at the bottom.

  I'm going to make a muslin first to make sure Ella's fits before I go through making the whole thing. Ella is definitely not an off-the-rack size and is picky about how things fit - this girl who always wanted to wear twirly skirts and dresses now won't wear anything too 'baggy'. The doll dress was from Liesl Gibson's Little Things to Sew. She has a somewhat similar pattern out for girls - the Seashore Dress. With a similar line and pockets.  It's currently spread all over my studio floor for tracing. Now if I can just get it done in time for Easter...

Waiting for the Storm

We still have power while we wait for the brunt of Hurricane Sandy to hit.

For a moment, when I awoke this morning, I thought that the hurricane had passed us by...  that it was over.  The news, though, says otherwise.  So we have spent the day in a state of anticipation.  Waiting for this hurricane that is supposed to hit land tonight yet has already disabled our city.

The kids are out of school for what feels like indefinitely.  Unless, for some reason, the power outages and flooding don't happen, they will return Thursday at the earliest.

So we sit here in our house.  Waiting for the lights to go out.  Praying that our trees stay standing and our basement stays dry.  And that all those in more treacherous locations stay safe.

Our makeshift attempt to divert water away from our outside basement stairwell.

And we can't DO anything.  We can bake.  We can raise up our chest freezer in our basement, roll up the rug and place it on sawhorses, get things like mats and toys up off the floor and onto tables.  We keep the kids occupied and don't put on the news.  They get to watch movies and take over my studio - sewing baby sheep and doll clothes.  They eat pie for breakfast and brownies at 430.

We fill pitchers of water and stock the fridge with homemade pizza and apple crisp.

And wait...

Habit

I can make plans and resolutions and changes every day but what it really comes down to is: I just need to be happy with what I have.

Inspired by Habit.

How to Occupy Your Children #1: The EpiPen Trainer

The Dad's last set of EpiPens came with a training pen.  It acts like the real thing but without the needle so you can practice and feel what that little kickback feels like.  Ella added it to the first aid kit she made at Girl Scouts.  She and Ollie spent an afternoon pretending they were injecting themselves with epinephrine.

Sometimes it's the little things that keep them the busiest.

Construction Zone

The problem with living in a house that is over 100 years old is that the work on the house is never done.  We bought this house believing that there was 20 years of work to do on it and that we would probably be here for 20 years.  Now we have been here for 5 (in two weeks!) and we are not so sure we want to be here for another 15.  So that 20 years of work?  We are trying to cram it into two.

 And you can never just do one thing.  We needed to have some sidewalk panels replaced - In Philadelphia, homeowners are responsible for the sidewalk that borders their property - and the end of our driveway repaired...  And why not replace the front steps that are starting to crumble?  Oh - and if we're replacing the front steps, this is probably the best time to replace the front door so that the steps can be finished without the old door in the way.

So the old door was pulled out yesterday.  And The Dad leaves town today for a work conference in Puerto Rico...  Which means we have fabulouly beautiful plywood in place of our front door until he comes back.  Ahhh...  Living in a construction site.  It will all be beautiful when it is done.  But it is never as easy as you first think it is going to be.

Our new door is slightly wider than the existing opening.  And the existing opening is made much more solidly than we expected.  So I see some serious wood planing in my future.  Hopefully we can get the new door in by the end of the week.  Until then, the kids are having a fun time drawing and writing on the plywood.

While the masonry crew is here, I am holed up in the house which is actually helping me get some work done!  I am participating the Philly Waldorf School Holiday Fair again in November - my first show in a year- and have really been able to get revved up in my studio.

I'm making some new things to add onto a smaller collection of my old favorites.  This show tends to be better for smaller gifty items.  I'm really liking this new pencil roll.  It needs a little tweaking but it is almost there!  Then back to my Treasure Totes (that made the Holiday Fair postcard!) and a larger version that I'm calling Library Bags.  It's funny how what I make evolves as my kids grow.  Two years ago, I made tons of the Treasure Totes.  They were the perfect size for my 4 and 6 year olds.  Now they are a little older and need something a little bigger (though they still use the Treasure Totes as their snack bags for school) so voila - the Library Bag is born.  What will I be making when the are 8 and 10?