This is what you get when you really want a play kitchen but you don’t have room for one more thing in your house. I made a new slipcover for our footstool. Here’s my before and after.
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I like braids. I came across this flickr group called Braid Wednesday the other day and it took me back to something I hadn’t thought about in a long time. Jennifer used to braid my hair on the school bus. I love that memory. I don’t actually remember a lot about it. I just remember sitting there sideways while she tugged my hair tight. I think I was usually sleepy because my body was trained to fall asleep as soon as I got on the bus and then eventually I was self-trained to wake up at just the right time when we pulled up to the school. My body somehow sensed we were near the school based on the rhythm of stops and goes and bumps in the road – I never slept through my stop but I always slept deeply. Thank you for braiding my hair on the school bus Jennifer.
via: meguerite
via: andrea (scout)Maybe if I coat Bea’s hair with hairspray and strap her to the chair I could make a little braid. Check back next Wednesday. -
This hat pattern goes together so quickly – I can actually complete it in one day – which is very satisfying to me. She wouldn’t try it on when we were at the beach this morning. It probably would have just blown off her head anyway. I think I need to make a chin strap to keep it on.
Thanks for the nice comment on the first hat Jennifer. I am going to look through my stash of fabric – I must have a pink that would satisfy Jenna. -
Wow our weekend was lovely but it flew by much too quickly. This is what Bea and Daddy did while I went out and bought some plants for our patio.
It’s biking season so they had to catch up on the The Giro d’Italia action:
And apparently there was some mugging for the camera with Daddy’s glasses:
It’s time for a haircut huh. -
I made this while she napped. It’s Simplicity pattern #5695 – It think I’ll make some more.
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We went to another church rummage sale this morning. I think we could keep completely busy just going to church rummage sales – there are so many this time of year.
I got a Corning Ware baking dish that has really nice clean lines. It reminds me of those beautiful Dansk enamel dishes. Do you ever get a new dish and then plan a meal that includes something to be made in that dish – just so you have the pleasure of looking at food in the dish and setting it on the table. Hmmm, I’m trying to think of something to make.
We happened upon some more Fisher Price toys and I let Bea pick up this cute little school bus because she was being good. Look at the little bully with the freckles in the back of the bus – I think he is going to cause some problems.
They had a whole big room of sewing supplies and sewing notions. Wow. I wish I hadn’t had a toddler on my hip. I would have dug through all the boxes and piles of fabric. But instead I just snatched up these patterns. I think I officially have a problem with my rate of pattern accumulation lately. It’s silly for me to gather up so many patterns and not get around to doing the sewing. But then could you pass these up for 10 cents each.
And here’s one more photo of some cute and busy little hands. I’m surprised that we have been baking together. I thought it would be much later when she would be able to stand on a chair and do the stirring and pouring. But she is so into it and I really enjoy it too. We are making Grandma Dice’s molasses cookies here.
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Brian has been doing another week of traveling from Tuesday through Thursday. It’s usually kinda hard for me to be without him and alone with Bea for that long. But this has been a nice week.
Maybe it’s because the majority of my planting got done in one fell swoop thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. Bea oversaw the effort with her big shovel.
Maybe it’s because we’ve been able to get outside on beautiful mornings like this one. She looks like a little mushroom because we just got off my bike.
Maybe it’s all the fresh air we are getting and how that seems to be helping Bea sleep well. Here she is running around on the patio. She finally decided that these sandals from Jenna’s collection are acceptable. Now I expect that she’ll refuse to wear any other shoes for the next two months.
Or maybe it’s because I got a good laugh tonight that made me think I’m not doing so bad as a parent. We were out on the patio running around yelling “meow” (Bea’s favorite pastime lately) when I heard a neighbor on his balcony saying “Daniel will you please open the door right NOW!”. I looked up and saw a dad pacing back and forth on his little balcony while he muttered angry sounding things under his breath. His kid had locked the sliding glass door so he was stuck there. He was irate and yet trying to keep it together to think of a way to get the kid to open the door. He kept repeating “Daniel will you open the door right NOW please!” getting angrier and angrier. I tried not to stare or snicker. Then I saw him looking in the window pleading “I’ll give you ice cream with chocolate on top”. Pretty soon I noticed he was no longer stuck on his balcony. -
You don’t really know what it means to be a mother until you try it. Being a mother means that your needs come last. It means that every day you are exhausted from simply hefting your little one, from reasoning with her, from answer questions such as, “Wa’are doing?” up to sixty-two times in a single day. It means that you worry about where she is at every moment of the day, if she’s warm enough, is the extra blanket enough, when will she outgrow her shoes? You cede your privacy when you go to the potty and you never know when a little face may peak into the shower. You’re always thinking about nap times and snack times and how to trick the beast into eating vegetables. When you go on vacation or out for an evening without her, your mind never really leaves.
But you’re also the one she asks for when she’s sad, when she’s happy, when she’s walking down the side of the road or in the coffee shop with Daddy. You’re the one she runs to, can’t wait to see and the only one who can comfort her when she wakes up hard. She gives you kisses, insists on seeing you before bed and you are the clearly preferred minister of bedtime stories. She gives you hundreds of smiles per day and repeats your words and takes on your mannerisms. She can’t imagine a moment of her life without you.
Kathy, thank you for giving everything you have to Bea. Thank you for giving her your cheeks and your smile and your big round eyes and bright smile. Thank you for giving her such a wonderful life. We love you.
Brian and Bea
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That’s what Bea said when we asked her where we went… “we went to the gardener”.
Grandpa and Grandma C. visited this weekend and we enjoyed a beautiful fresh and colorful spring walk at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Doug took some of these photos – the good ones.
Laowai 