I would LOVE to make this bag. I just found out about the designer (I guess that's what you call her??), Amy Butler, last week and she has such awesome fabric and patterns. The only problem is that I'm really familiar with sewing straight lines (you know, burp cloths, curtains, more burp cloths), but I have never sewed from a pattern or made anything that has a curve in it.
And, since I'm kinda new to the sewing thing, I'm not sure if it would really be economical to buy all the stuff needed to make the bag (pattern, fabric, thread, etc) since I just might screw it up.
Those of you who sew, any thoughts?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Work
I just spent the last 2 weeks with my grandma. She is 72 years old, still cuts her own grass, hangs all her laundry to dry, and keeps her house immaculate. She literally never sits still. One day during the boys' naptime I told her that she should take a nap too. (We had just returned from a 10 hour road trip). She said, "Hon, if I sit down for a second, I'll fall asleep, so I just have to keep moving." That is when I reminded her that the purpose of a nap is to fall asleep.
If you know me even a little bit, you know that working hard is not my forte. I like to rest. I like to read. I like to do short little crafty things that do not take much diligence. I like to watch movies. I like to cook. But I do not like to work, and certainly not without breaks.
Then I read this and I realized that my children will never learn to work hard if I am not modeling it for them. Daily. They are learning from me right now, whether I am conciously training them or not.
And then I read our book-club book for this month. It takes place during the turn of the last century. The main character describes doing laundry. (And I thought my seven steps were bad.) Let's just say I won't be complaining about doing laundry anytime soon. This girl never stopped. She had to do everything herself, like slaughtering a hog, washing clothes, growing and canning vegetables, etc. And every night she would still mop the kitchen floor before she went to bed. All I know is that if I had worked as hard as she had all day long, I would have let that floor wait til later.
All that to say, I have been convicted over and over this week about work. I think I let myself get away with too much. I regularly disregard my duty as a wife and mother and tell myself that I deserve a break. Our culture tells us that we need 'me-time' and though down-time and time alone can be wonderful, that is not what we should focus on. We live as a family, each with our roles and duties. We work together first so that we can play together later.
(Some of you out there might actually need to take a break - so if you are one of those dutiful, hard-working moms, make yourselves a cup of tea and sit for a minute. I write these thoughts from over here on the other side, where I need to get up off of my well-rested bum and get to work!)
If you know me even a little bit, you know that working hard is not my forte. I like to rest. I like to read. I like to do short little crafty things that do not take much diligence. I like to watch movies. I like to cook. But I do not like to work, and certainly not without breaks.
Then I read this and I realized that my children will never learn to work hard if I am not modeling it for them. Daily. They are learning from me right now, whether I am conciously training them or not.
And then I read our book-club book for this month. It takes place during the turn of the last century. The main character describes doing laundry. (And I thought my seven steps were bad.) Let's just say I won't be complaining about doing laundry anytime soon. This girl never stopped. She had to do everything herself, like slaughtering a hog, washing clothes, growing and canning vegetables, etc. And every night she would still mop the kitchen floor before she went to bed. All I know is that if I had worked as hard as she had all day long, I would have let that floor wait til later.
All that to say, I have been convicted over and over this week about work. I think I let myself get away with too much. I regularly disregard my duty as a wife and mother and tell myself that I deserve a break. Our culture tells us that we need 'me-time' and though down-time and time alone can be wonderful, that is not what we should focus on. We live as a family, each with our roles and duties. We work together first so that we can play together later.
(Some of you out there might actually need to take a break - so if you are one of those dutiful, hard-working moms, make yourselves a cup of tea and sit for a minute. I write these thoughts from over here on the other side, where I need to get up off of my well-rested bum and get to work!)
Just life
Since we've been home I've been trying to rest. We did go over to the pool at a friend's house the day after we got back (that wasn't so much restful...you'd think I would have done the math: 2 kids + pool= I.must.be.insane) but it was great to see her and her sweet little baby. Though I did decide not to take the boys to the pool by myself again anytime soon. So since the pool is now out of the question, we've been making the most of parks and playgrounds nearby.
And we have been going on tons of walks together...I especially love the after-dinner walks. Now that Chet is done school for the summer, I feel so free! As I am sure he does.
While we were gone, Chet found this little organic and local grocery store, so we went over there to check it out last night. I am looking forward to buying local produce, meat, and milk as much as I can. We used to be part of a CSA in Chattanooga and I loved getting whatever weird vegetables were in season because it called for creativity in the kitchen. And who doesn't like to come up with a delicious recipe for kohlrabi?
Today I thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine and hang up the diapers outside. I have heard that the sun bleaches them, and boy do they need some bleaching. Frankly, I am embarrased by the state of them, so I hope none of my neighbors see...at least until they are white again. And I was very thankful (for the first time ever) that Chet sometimes forgets to lock the basement door, because I accidentally locked myself out when I stepped onto the porch to hang them.
Oh, and drumroll, please...I just joined the YMCA today. It's about 2 minutes from our house so I am hoping to get a lot of use out of it. I am so ready to have some abs again - it's been a long time since I've seen them. ;)
And we have been going on tons of walks together...I especially love the after-dinner walks. Now that Chet is done school for the summer, I feel so free! As I am sure he does.
While we were gone, Chet found this little organic and local grocery store, so we went over there to check it out last night. I am looking forward to buying local produce, meat, and milk as much as I can. We used to be part of a CSA in Chattanooga and I loved getting whatever weird vegetables were in season because it called for creativity in the kitchen. And who doesn't like to come up with a delicious recipe for kohlrabi?
Today I thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine and hang up the diapers outside. I have heard that the sun bleaches them, and boy do they need some bleaching. Frankly, I am embarrased by the state of them, so I hope none of my neighbors see...at least until they are white again. And I was very thankful (for the first time ever) that Chet sometimes forgets to lock the basement door, because I accidentally locked myself out when I stepped onto the porch to hang them.
Oh, and drumroll, please...I just joined the YMCA today. It's about 2 minutes from our house so I am hoping to get a lot of use out of it. I am so ready to have some abs again - it's been a long time since I've seen them. ;)
Monday, June 15, 2009
We made it
(Alternate title: I am freakin tired.)
Before the flight I kept telling myself that it was only two hours of my life, so it couldn't be that bad. But yes, it can. Really. It can.
So first I had to drag both kids and Sharks car seat onto the plane (Deedo was going to sit in my lap). And that is when I looked up and saw that Sharks was bustin some major slack and by that I mean that his pants had fallen to his ankles. I must have forgotten to button them after I took him to the bathroom.
We made it into our seats just fine and a cute college girl sat next to us. Before I even had time to feel sorry for her for choosing that seat, she exchanged it with this old dude who had been sitting by her sister. He was nice, but kinda awkward around kids. (Every time Deeds grazed his arm he wiped it with a kleenex. I wanted to say, "Relax!" but I was too busy shoving Goldfish into two screaming mouths.)
And Sharks may have pee-peed a little on his pants when I tried to take him to the bathroom. We didn't fit all the way inside so I had to leave the door open and pretty much the whole plane heard me yell, "Oh shoot, stop peeing...oh well, too late."
And then of course he dumped his honey-roasted airplane peanuts all over his wet pants. We were in a mess.
We ended up coloring with markers for a while towards the end. I was so excited to see Chet and I was thinking that I didn't look half bad considering the circumstances. Little did I know that I had scribbled in blue all over my upper lip. (I like to call that the color humble).
But we made it. We are home. Chet is giving the boys a bath now so I have a few moments of quiet.
Before the flight I kept telling myself that it was only two hours of my life, so it couldn't be that bad. But yes, it can. Really. It can.
So first I had to drag both kids and Sharks car seat onto the plane (Deedo was going to sit in my lap). And that is when I looked up and saw that Sharks was bustin some major slack and by that I mean that his pants had fallen to his ankles. I must have forgotten to button them after I took him to the bathroom.
We made it into our seats just fine and a cute college girl sat next to us. Before I even had time to feel sorry for her for choosing that seat, she exchanged it with this old dude who had been sitting by her sister. He was nice, but kinda awkward around kids. (Every time Deeds grazed his arm he wiped it with a kleenex. I wanted to say, "Relax!" but I was too busy shoving Goldfish into two screaming mouths.)
And Sharks may have pee-peed a little on his pants when I tried to take him to the bathroom. We didn't fit all the way inside so I had to leave the door open and pretty much the whole plane heard me yell, "Oh shoot, stop peeing...oh well, too late."
And then of course he dumped his honey-roasted airplane peanuts all over his wet pants. We were in a mess.
We ended up coloring with markers for a while towards the end. I was so excited to see Chet and I was thinking that I didn't look half bad considering the circumstances. Little did I know that I had scribbled in blue all over my upper lip. (I like to call that the color humble).
But we made it. We are home. Chet is giving the boys a bath now so I have a few moments of quiet.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Later, peeps.
We are going to be out of town for 2 weeks visiting family and attending my grandma's funeral.
We'll be staying with my other grandma...who is computerless. So I'll be taking a break from the blog for a bit, but I'll be back!
Pray for safe travel!
We'll be staying with my other grandma...who is computerless. So I'll be taking a break from the blog for a bit, but I'll be back!
Pray for safe travel!
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