Sewing, My Daughter, and Breakthroughs

I sewed diapers for Tegan's Baby Alive doll yesterday. Prior to yesterday, the last time I sewed anything on a sewing machine was around ten years ago. I didn't own a sewing machine then, so I had to borrow one when I wanted to make some curtains. A couple of years later, my mom gave me a brand-new sewing machine because she'd somehow wound up with an extra.... and it has sat, untouched, in my garage until yesterday. Partly because that's just the way I do things, and partly because I had a bad association with sewing.

When I made the curtains on that borrowed machine, there was an... incident. There was an incident, I got my feelings hurt, and I haven't sewed since then.

Is that not the stupidest reason not to do something? But there it was.

I've wanted to conquer my sewing machine for awhile now, and when my daughter needed baby diapers, I knew it was time. So I sewed. And it was fun.

I sewed four diapers in all, and will be making some more today. They're not pretty... they're uneven and messy and quite clearly shout "A novice made me." But my daughter is thrilled, and that makes me happy. It felt good too, to do something I hadn't done in a long time; to do something that I'd been avoiding.

When I'd finished for the night last night, still on a post-project high, I told Mike how glad I was that I'd finally gotten out the sewing machine. And that part of the reason I hadn't done it sooner was because of old feelings from the last time.

"I know."

And then I said, as if it wasn't the millionth time I'd realized it, "I do that a LOT."

Again he said, "I know."

I have spent way too much time letting pride, old wounds, and fear stop me from doing things I want to do. As my friend Jessica says, That's stupid, so I'm not going to do it anymore. That's not an example I want to set for my kids.

Am I going to become a master seamstress? I doubt it, only because there are lots of other things I want to do too. But I'm not afraid of my sewing machine anymore. And the next time Tegan - or any of my children - ask me to sew something, the answer will be a confident, joyful and resounding,

YES. Yes I can.



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Another Great Room Swap, Part Two

She doesn't actually sleep in it yet, but she enjoys pretending. :)

This is the little kids' room, bringing our latest room swap project to a close.  There's still work to be done (including, but not limited to:  painting, decorating, and culling through the 4638 toys, puzzles, and games they've accumulated over the years) but the "big stuff" is done, for which I am thankful.  Everett and Tegan are both thrilled with his new slide bed, and I am thrilled with the fact that there is not just a clear path to the bed, but an actual floor! 

It has inspired me to do more long-awaited projects around the house, which - if the past is any indication - will be completed just in time for us to sell.

Another Great Room Swap, Part One

Ever since we bought this house 4 years ago, we've been playing musical bedrooms (which if you've been around for awhile, you've no doubt read about) Today, prompted by a great Craigslist deal on a new bed for Everett, we began our most recent - and what I'm hoping is our last - room project. The goal is to keep everyone happy and comfortable until we can pay off our debt and see about moving out of here.... some day.

The catalyst this time was Paxton, who was no longer happy sharing with his younger siblings. Spencer, who up until today has had his own room since the last Great Room Swap, decided he'd be willing to share once again. They both stay up late and sleep all morning, making them pretty ideal roommates.

They immediately climbed into bed to play Playstation. :)

We worked all afternoon, and into the evening. We are not done yet (lots of piles of... stuff... still to be sorted through in the little kids' room) but the big boys' room is done and ready to go, save for their own personal touches. They have big plans to outfit it with a mini-fridge, turning it into their own little dorm room. :)

We will hopefully get finished up in Everett and Tegan's room tomorrow, and in the meantime, everyone is going to bed happy.

Eden Garden House

Projects, my mom, and homemade pasta

The older I get, the more traits I realize I share with my mother. 

My mom and I both are big fans of trying new projects. And we're not little toe-dippers either. We get an idea, we get all excited, and the next thing we know we have closets full of... stuff... for jewelry making, wine making, lip balm making, scrap book scrapping, hair clip crafting, gold panning (although in my defense, the gold panning supplies were my husband's idea)

I have a tendency to get a little too, well,  enthusiastic when I am struck with inspiration. You know how when you try a crazy or difficult new recipe, a sensible person would think, "This might not turn out right. We might not like this. I'll just make a small batch?" Well my brain immediately tends to go to, "Pssssh, it's a waste of time to make such a tiny amount. I'll triple it."

And it's a vicious circle too, because every time my mom does something new, which is often, I can't help but think, "Wow, that's cool. I should try that." And I often do. Recently she's been making these beautiful pieces of wire jewelry, and has been etching glass for a year or two now.

Isn't this beautiful?

I can't apologize for my penchant for jumping headlong into new projects. Even if it sometimes means closets - and garages - full of abandoned supplies. Even if it sometimes means three giant batches of something that was supposed to be edible, but was in fact not edible, in the trash. Even if it sometimes frustrates my husband.

I really believe that it's important to try new things, to keep learning, and to stay engaged (or get acquainted) with your creative side. I also think that it works out strongly in my favor that I share this belief with my mother. Because when she's done with something, I get her hand-me-downs.

Yesterday, inspired by my big, huge list, I decided to pull out the pasta maker she gave me a few months ago (from where it had been sitting, untouched, in the garage.) While I was hunting for it, I came across the sewing machine, also from my mother and also untouched, that I was so excited to get... um, about 8 years ago.

Note to self: Sew something soon.

But first, PASTA!

The box had everything but the instruction manual, so first we had to Google. Then I carefully washed all the pieces, got it assembled, and put on Everett's chosen shape. Two cups of flour, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a little water, and one (homegrown) egg later, and we were in business.

There was one brief moment of panic when the motor completely shut off just as it started to extrude the noodles, but it was nothing a little troubleshooting and readjusting couldn't fix.

 
And about an hour from the time I first got the machine out of the garage, we enjoyed our very first, very delicious, homemade pasta.

On a sad, and ironic, post note: After we all agreed that our future was going to hold lots of homemade pasta making, a critical inside piece of the machine (already stressed and weathered just from age) completely snapped and broke when it was being washed.

They don't make the machine anymore. And they don't sell replacement parts. :(

Oh well. I'm glad we got to use it, even once. Now I get to research buying a different kind, which is half the fun of a new project anyway.

And I really am going to sew something. Soon.

Feeling Crafty

By nature, I'm a highly disorganized person. I've blogged about it before, so this is not anything new. I tend to make a mess out of everything I touch. But the fact remains that I will forever be in love with things that make me FEEL like I'm being organized. I walk through Staples and Office Max and just sigh with pleasure.

So I get very excited when I come across do-it-yourself organizational projects, especially quick ones, and even more especially, cheap ones.

Someone posted this idea for a free menu planner, and I thought, "You know what I don't have?  A free menu planner."  As much as I like the concept of planning meals in advance....  ah, well, you know the rest.  Nice in theory, but in practice, not so much.  But maybe if I have a fun menu planner, I'll actually use it.  And it's cute.  And it's free!  So after three failed attempts (I have issues printing things at the correct size) I printed it out:

Next was a trip to the Dollar Tree with the two little ones, for a $1 frame. 

I trimmed the heck out of it, 

Put it in my dollar store frame, and grabbed a dry erase marker (Is there anything greater than dry erase markers?!)  And voila.  For a dollar, some ink, and a couple of minutes of time, we now have a nice, reusable, menu planner.  And the illusion of organization.

The Anatomy of a Gingerbread House

This was the first year we bought one of those pre-packaged gingerbread kits, in all its hydrogenated, artificially colored glory.

Everett immediately put himself in charge.

"I'm doing something fun with my brothers and it involves CANDY!"

Sometime around here, 2 year old disappeared.  She was clear across the house.

"No, I don't have a mouth full of candy."

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen.....

It was when I was taking pictures of the finished product that I saw the ever-widening gap on the ceiling.

Going.

Going.

Gone.

The whole thing took an hour, from box to table to mouth.  And it was worth every second, and every penny.

Seven days till Christmas.