the sky is pink

Everywhere I look, babies are being born. I threw together a few bibs and burp cloth (all backed in chenille) for some new baby girls. I love the femininity of the fabric. Too sweet. Soon I have to work on those boy versions... Mason scored his first goal on Saturday during soccer. Woo-hoo, Mason ! We had a couple of barfy boys in the house within the last couple of days. Yuck. Our little town flooded Saturday night/Sunday morning. Main Street was blocked off, as was our main entrance and exit to the town. I succumbed about bought some candy corn for Sawyer's little birthday gathering. I think I ate too much. (But did you know there is "caramel candy corn?") I'm running late this morning. I have to drive Spenser to preschool. But I have dinner in the crockpot.

Candy corn. You are evil. You are not good for my waistline. It's not October yet, so I refuse to buy you. And when I do. Look out. I will eat you by the handfuls. And I might even buy your friends, the pumpkins. But, since it's still September, I will just take the calorie-free approach and sew a tote. One that both honors you and reminds me to stay away from you. And I won't play any tricks on anyone by biting off your white tip and pretending to have lost a tooth. I remember that day when I was a kid and did that to my mother. I felt instantly bad that I was deceiving her and 'fessed up. I really wasn't going to stick you under my pillow for the tooth fairy. Instead, I gobbled you right up. And the truth is, I'm not even sure if I like you. I'm not sure if I like how you taste. You're awfully sweet, and I don't like very sweet things. I think you remind me of autumn. And of playing football and kickball in the backyard. And coughing when the cold...

He did it. He up and turned two today. I seriously do not think it is possible. Wasn't he just turning one ? Or just being born? Little man. I adore you. Completely and utterly adore you. I love your brown eyes. I love the little brown uni-brow that peeks out sometimes. I love your blond, blond hair. I love your surfer tan all year round. I love that you are safety conscious. You will remind me if you aren't buckled in your car seat or high chair. "Mama, buckle me," you'll say. You even buckle the highchair when no one is in it. And doll strollers. I love that you give me the double "thumbs up" sign. It's really too cute. Especially with that heart-melting smile of yours. I love your little OCD - ness . You go around shutting all the cabinet doors in the kitchen, and any doors around the house that are open. You even close the dishwasher while I'm in the middle of doing dishes. Sometimes you do just the opposite and you open all the cabinets. Wh...

My town. I just love it. I love that it is tiny. And quaint. And filled with old homes. And mature trees. And friendly, older neighbors who have lived here most of their lives. Some call it Mayberry . Our mayor is not only one of neighbors, he also teaches our boys karate . Our town is a one stop-light town. ("At the stop light, take a right and that's our street," is how we tell people where we live. Or "right across the street from Pastor Michael." If we say that, every one will know our exact house. And who lived here before we did.) So when I noticed two police cars on my street yesterday, I thought that was odd. We have a "town resident," who works for the county's sheriffs office and he is assigned our town as his main duty post. We know him by name. We see him driving around town frequently, but he is always alone. And I thought it was even more strange when I saw a Maryland State Trooper car driving down our street. (We live on a dead end....

I've been needing a new dirty undergarment keeper for a long time. (Sorry, is that too much information?) My last one, made from a pillowcase, was getting raggedy and worn. I wasn't feeling the love anymore. It had to go. This project has been on my mind for years. My mother has an awesome one that someone gave her 30+ years ago. It has several rows of rickrack all around the round opening. I love it. As much as I wanted one just like that, I decided to do a little something different. I used leftover linen from the dress and scraps of vintage sheets from past projects. This turned out a little more narrow and longer than I anticipated. After I cut the hole, I realized that the bottom would have to be longer or the hole would be too low. I used a store pants hanger so, I stuck with the dimensions of that for the width. It's basically straight across the top, with a little place for the size that sticks up. I'm now thinking of other possibilities. Maybe the boys ne...

Our Saturday was action packed with three soccer games. All four of the oldest boys play. On three separate teams. Luckily the games are spaced enough that they don't overlap. It just makes for a busy, busy day. Here Jackson is defending the goal for the third quarter. His team lost. But they played a good game. At one point Mason kept trying to take the ball from Jackson, his teammate. I stood up and yelled, "Don't take the ball from your brother!" And all the parents broke out in laughter. I guess those two are a little competitive with each other, even when they should be playing together. Jackson had several attempted goals. He's a pretty good little player. During Jackson and Mason's soccer game, Taylor went on an archaeological dig, at a local spring house, with his Social Studies teacher. He can participate most Saturday mornings throughout the school year. I think it's a great opportunity for him to learn and experience new things. And he earns ...

You know it's one of those days when your son comes home from the bus stop, one minute after leaving the house, with bird poop on his arm. And when the most giant bottle of chocolate syrup in the world falls out of the fridge onto your foot. And when you reach into your kitchen cabinet to realize that a mouse has been in there. And your husband is out of town. And you go to your eldest's school to preview the family life movies and you get a case of the giggles that you have to suppress. Why I couldn't resist giggling, I have no idea. (I'm giggling now.) I don't know if it was the funny early-90's music with hilarious lyrics about growing up, or the hairstyles and clothes, or some of the phrases they used. I know it wasn't the subject matter that made me giggle, some of it horrified me that they teach that stuff to sixth graders. I know that sitting in a classroom is not for this old body. By the end, my neck, knees, and back were revolting. I think it was ...

... you sniffle and it pulls a muscle in the back of your neck. Yes. It is true. If it can happen, it will happen to me . I've had a cold since Sunday evening and yesterday morning, while packing school lunches, I sniffled. And as soon as I did, I had a spasm in the back of my neck. It hurt the rest of the day. I've wanted to recover my heating pad (just like my ice packs ) forever. (Or as Miss Chris so eloquently stated "make clothes for them.") Heating pad covers are, well, nasty. They are scratchy and ugly and everything sticks to them. They needed something new to wear. It's wonky and puckery (which I almost entirely blame on my machine), but it's better than the polyester stuff from before. I made this from linen and scraps from my basket. I have another heating pad that needs a new cover, so hopefully it will look better. Yes, when you get old and start falling apart, you need multiple heating pads. P.S. It wasn't a big nasty sniffle. Just a little...

I'm still having extra time in town this preschool season, so I am stopping in the thrift store more frequently. I have managed to find more teacups for Spenser's upcoming birthday-tea party and I think I'm about finished in that department. Her birthday is not until November, so that makes me happy to have that out of the way. Some of my most recent, happy finds are the vintage salt and pepper shakers above. Both are decorated with the Spring Blossom pattern, of which I have the most in my collection. I also found a gravy boat in that fun gray/silver-aqua pattern to match my creamer and plate s . ( Yes , I bought three more plates. And the other two basket cups.) And I needed a gravy boat. Really. I did. And this is my splurge. I had seen this bowl, most coveted by me, at the local antique mall for $18. I thought that was way too much to spend on one measly, highly-coveted-by-Lera Pyrex piece so I didn't buy it. I have been still searching high and low for one in thri...

I got a bee in my bonnet on Sunday afternoon that Spenser needed a jumper for preschool. It was not until Monday when I finally sat down and figured it out and it was driving me mad. I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it the rest of Sunday and all of Monday ... I'm sure you understand. Joe is out of town this week, so I had some quiet "sewing time" last night after the kids were in bed. The jumper is loosely based on one in this Japanese book . I changed it around quite a bit. This is my practice one. My original intention was to make her with the leftover sheet from my lounge pants . We'll see how this one flies with her. It is sewn from a thrifted sheet and lined with some vintage pink gingham. ( Yes , I still have a boatload of that gingham left.) I added some matching pink gingham buttons to it. I think she might wear it. It has the pink factor going for it ... I'll report back.

to make the Amy Butler In Stitches Wide-Leg Lounge Pants, but I know I'm not the last one to use a thrifted sheet ... I have an old standby lounge pants pattern that I used to make long and cropped bottoms. I didn't really see the need to change my pattern. I was happy with it. I've seen all the cute Wide-Leg Lounge Pants all over blogworld and everyone seems to love them, so I thought "why not?" I like them. I don't love them. Yet. I really think they are too wide. I'm envisioning myself tripping down the stairs in these things. More than once. They are comfy, I'm just considering my klutzy history. I have made lounge pants/pajama bottoms in the past from sheets, so it's not my first time. Or second. In fact, I think my first pair was made before it became so trendy, and I used the hem for the hem . I'm sure I had nothing to do with the trend, it's just purely coincidental. When I showed off my new pants, Taylor asked (most serious...

Confession: I am terrible with tags and memes. Don't get me wrong, I am so very appreciative of such nominations, it's just that my memory is, uh, well ... not as good as it used to be. I have every intention of accepting my awards on my blog and when it comes time to write a new post, I forget. I usually don't even remember for a few days and when it comes time to write a new post, I forget. Again. It's a vicious cycle... (Let me just add that it stinks to get old. And it doesn't help that I am in charge of six little people who have zapped all of my brain cells.) So here they are. I hope I have them all. And if I don't, please email me post haste and I will add you. So without further delay ... The Arte y pico award. This lovely award was given to me by Blondie of Blondie Speaks , Erica of Polka Dot Quilts , Rozi of Rozi ... The Artist , and Lisa of Lula Bells Daughter . Go check out their blogs. You won't be disappointed. The Brilliante award. Yvonne of...

With all of my thrifting treasures finding their way into my home, I have a steady trickle of "new" things that are going out of the house. I've been going through our buffet and cabinets and antique glass secretary and cleaning out. Newer stuff is going to be donated. I have a box and a pile on the floor of stuff that won't fit in the box. And I'm just starting ... Here are some of the things that have recently made their way into my home. Some lovely Pyrex from my friend, Kat . Look at the lid to that aqua piece! It has a lovely gold design! And I've been needing a divided casserole. Since my kids are anti-potato , it will make roast-night dinners easier for me. Carrots on one side. Potatoes on the other. These are also from Kat. A Pyrex pie plate, a little flower teacup for Spenser, and a fruity casserole dish. I was just looking at that same pattern in the thrift store the day that Kat dropped it off at my house. It has strawberries on it! Swoon! She also ...

I made cookies yesterday. Real cookies. I know. Shocker. I've confessed before that I don't like baking from scratch. Floating and wafting flour really annoys me. But these cookies have very little flour in them, so I make the exception. Plus they are so scrumdidiliumptious (you know, I can't find how to spell that word so I'll have to make up my own spelling.) Home-Style Oatmeal Cookies 4 cups quick oatmeal 2 cups brown sugar 1 cup oil 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup walnuts (optional) 2 beaten eggs 1/2 cup flour (I did add a little more to hold the cookies together better) 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup raisins Mix oatmeal, sugar and oil. Let stand overnight (or mix during the day and make the cookies at night). Add vanilla, walnuts, eggs, flour, salt and raisins. Drop onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Makes 3 dozen. Story: Pick Your own Battles Last night I went to pick up Jackson and Mason from soccer practice. As I was talking to the coach about S...

Thank you for your sweet words yesterday . I read through your comments yesterday afternoon and cried. And then I looked at some pictures of Krissy and watched some DVDs and sobbed. Spenser thought my sobs were laughs and she laughed "along" with me. Then I sobbed louder and she laughed louder. And then she saw my tears. She was so very sweet. She wiped my tears and put her arm around my neck and her face next to mine. I needed to have a "cry-fest," as Joe calls them. After a little while, my tears dried and I was left with very crunchy and clumped eyelashes and a headache and nausea (from stress). I spent a good portion of my day with my family. I had breakfast with my mother, three sisters, one brother, three nephews, one niece, and Sawyer (while Spenser was in preschool). Later in the day my entire family got together for pizza, including two more brothers, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, etc. We ended the evening at the cemetery. The cem...

The little girl ... The animal lover ... Mother of two ... Sister ... (Emily, left, and Kristen, right ) Kristen October 6, 1979 - September 9, 2002 Always remembered. Never forgotten. Always missed.

I went to a flea market on Friday morning. I discovered it last year and made sure I remembered about it this year. The find of the day for me was this smocking pleater. It's a Read 16-row pleater with a board to hold the pleater and spools of thread. It came with lots of thread and a few extra needles. These books were included. I looked them up online and the books range in price from $12.99-19.99 each. And some vintage, yet timeless, smocking patterns. And a binder of information, including patterns and techniques. Two and a half years ago (while I was on bedrest during my pregnancy with Sawyer) my friend, Christy started to teach me how to smock. I worked on it a little, but when my bedrest turned into couch-sitting (when Joe had to return to work after the first week), I had very little time with Jackson, Mason, and Spenser still at home to do "busy" work. I tried to pick it up a few months ago, and was completely lost. This is as far as I got... When I saw t...

With Spenser in preschool two mornings a week, I am finding I have a lot of spare time in town. (I don't drive home in between because we live about 15-20 minutes from school.) Usually when I find myself having "extra" time, I stop to visit my mother, who lives in town. When we stopped by yesterday, she was on her way out the door to take Mom-Mom to the grocery store. I had to "resort" to my next option. Thrifting. I actually hit three thrift stores, the last being the gold mine. Before I walked in, I said, "Now, Lera, you are only going to buy things you love and can't live without ..." Very wise, I might add. And, boy, were there a lot of things I couldn't live without. Like this little tea set. It's tiny. It's totally child-sized. It's missing the lid to the teapot and has a little hairline crack, but, honestly. Just look at it. I knew I couldn't live another day without it. (If you didn't think I'd buy it, then you...

I'm often asked what books I'm reading. Well, honestly, I don't have much time to spend on reading. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that there's not enough time. I'm a s-l-o-w reader. I took the above stack of books on vacation recently. My goal was to read a book a day. Ha! I read two and a half. It's hard to read when there are little kids playing in the water. Or playing badminton. Or flying kites. Or playing on the playground. Or playing Frisbee. Or football. All at the same time. Yes, with six children there are six different activities going on all at once. At all times. Anyway, the books I like to read most often are juvenile books. They are quick reads and make me feel like I am accomplishing something. I can put it down for days or weeks and when I pick it back up, there is no long, twisted plot I have to try to remember. So, what books are you reading? I'd love to hear. You know, in case I have some spare time ... Please s...

So my knees are better. I think . So far so good. I think some vacay time did them well. (But I don't think the hiking and geocaching was so good to them.) The thing is, Joe and I have started running in the mornings. I was very gung-ho and felt great. During one morning run, I noticed that my left knee hurt a bit. Not enough to make me stop though. Later in the day it got worse and worse. We couldn't run the next morning because Joe had to work very late the night before and didn't come home until nearly 1 a.m. I knew we'd skip that run and I was okay with it. Kind of. After getting out of bed, I realized my knee was killing me. I tried to nurse it back to health by myself with ibuprofen. I didn't know exactly what was wrong with it, but I was thinking ligaments. The doctor thought it was bone. Either way, a few days after the injury he gave me new meds and told me I could run in five days. Five days came and went. I could barely walk. Ten days came and went and I...

Now I'm singing Dora ... Sorry if you are, too. Yesterday I used up the rest of my brain cells trying to make this backpack. It took a lot. I had to resort to using some of Joe's brain cells when my ran out. I was going to make Spenser a tote bag for preschool. I looked at a few backpacks at the store and they were pretty yucky. (She wasn't with me or I would have been suckered into something, I'm sure.) So, a tote it was. Until ... someone asked her if she had a new backpack for preschool ... Her eyes lit up. She had never thought about a backpack for preschool. It was a look of wonderment and I saw the wheels turning in her head. She wanted a backpack. For preschool. I thought, "It can't be that hard to figure out ..." And, really, it wasn't. It was more time consuming. I serged all the parts together and "lined" it with white flannel to give it more stability. However, it's still flimsy. I made a pocket on the inside bottom and add...