Little moments

It's the little moments I want to hold on to.

Seeing Luke in a distance -- so earnest it makes me burst into laughter -- flailing at imaginary butterflies with a blue butterfly net, running so fast in the grass in bare feet, his fine hair blowing in the wind. Catching nothing but the wind. 

Seeing the other one dissolve into giggles the second his feet find their balance in the bounce house. Taking three wobbly steps before a face-plant, which he finds hysterical, cracking up into the red plastic, smearing it with wet baby slobber.

The way J.J. holds his mouth wide open for five seconds before bobbing his head down around a tiny plastic straw, wanting to be sure it makes it in there.

The way Luke grumbles at J.J. when he's frustrated with him, crowding him and grabbing him loosely around the head or body. But never, ever hurting him. 

The way J.J. calls everything Mama. The fridge. A banana. Other people. But mostly, the way he says it to me.

The way Luke falls asleep in the car, one leg tossed over the side of the car seat, his head tucked down onto his shoulder, quiet snores sneaking out from his mouth.  And then the way he denies it so vehemently, "No, Mama, I did NOT sleep in the car. No, no, no." Luke never sleeps in the car. (Except when he does.)

The march upstairs to go wake up Dada around 9 a.m., one following after another, both wearing dinosaur pajamas, me singing a marching song with glee: "Let's go wake up DADA! Let's go wake up DADA!" The way they fall all over him in the bed, and the way he grabs onto them to make sure they don't fall off the bed as they roll over him. Sunlight coming in the windows.

Hold onto the little moments. Aren't they so beautiful?

If you're game, share one in the comments. And Happy Mother's Day to all you moms.

Cherry pie birthday cake

Today's my hub's birthday. He's been joking for as long as I've known him -- about 13 years now -- that he thought he'd die when he was 31. It's an unnerving joke, but that's him. It started to bother me a little bit in recent years. What if he was right and somehow knew he'd never make it to 32? It's a ridiculous assumption, but he was so steadfast about it that I couldn't help but get freaked out when he'd bring it up. Luckily, today I can say what was always the case -- that was a load of BS! Today my babe turns 32.

We're planning to celebrate later today with family, pizza and cake. Or rather, cakes, as in, I'm going to make individual chocolate lava cakes later today. We also might go to a local soul food restaurant for lunch, so it's going to be quite the day on the old digestive system.

I thought I'd take the chance to share the cake I made last year. My hubs isn't that big on regular old birthday cake, hence the lava cake plans. What he really loves in cherry pie. I've bought him cherry pies on previous birthdays, but last year I got all creative and made him this.

Why yes, that's a cherry pie cake!

Probably never shared it last year because my photos are a little blurry. Bad lighting will do that! But looking back, I have decided it's blog worthy. Because wow does that ever look like a pie! It's a regular cake mix made in a round pan, topped with a jar of super delicious Michigan-made cherry pie filling and then covered with a fake lattice pie crust top made with slightly-brown tinted frosting.

Around here, adults don't get to blow the candles out on their own anymore. But I think that's OK.

Happy birthday, baby! I love you!

#AverageDayinFlorida

Vacation was.... sigh.

 Lovely.

Warm.

Indulgent. 

I loved seeing my kids tiptoe through the sand, unsteady.

 

Or plow right into the waves, unafraid.

Loved seeing them discover new things, Like lizards.

 And dolphins
.

Loved discovering a few things of my own.


Loved time away. To sit and look at the ocean.

To lay around.  And do nada.



Loved getting to "sleep in...." and still catch a beautiful sunrise.



Of course, I loved eating way too much food. Especially of the fried (or beer) variety. So many delicious food choices to ponder!






And there were also very large pirates to pose with. That's important vacation work right there.

 

And I really loved spending time with family and friends we don't see all the time.



Vacation was great. We even survived two three-hour plane rides with two toddlers. AND we found a giant moustache! Check and check.



I've been back for a bit now. I just caught up on life this weekend. Mostly. (Do you ever really catch up on life once you're got kids sucking up all your time? Nah.) I did start a sewing project over the weekend and it's two straps away from being done. I'll be sharing it shortly. It felt comforting to be snipping threads and muttering curse words in my sewing nook once again.

Vacation's nice. But home is nice, too.

This and that

I have nothing sewing-related to show you, unfortunately. So how about everything else in my camera? Maybe see what else I've been up to recently?

Cute baby in a bath. You are welcome. 

My Dad and his grandkids. I love this picture.

Mom2Mom season is back! I will be going out tomorrow, and a couple of weeks back, I rounded up this loot at a sale. I think I spent $14 for all of this.

When my friends Martin and Michelle moved to Germany, they didn't want to take this cute Ikea shelving unit. So I bought it from them for a very reasonable price. I honestly don't know how I lived without it. Not only does it fit perfectly in my dining room, but it is holding all sorts of things that before were crowded up my drawers and cabinets. 

Napkins, bibs (in the basket), cookbooks, huge salad bowls -- everything has a place now!

I found this cute orange Pyrex at an antique store. 

The other side. I love having my KitchenAid on display. Let's be honest, that baby is a work of art. It deserves a spot in a display case.

Moving on, I bought this cute pre-ruffled black and white fabric and can't figure out what to do with it. Pillow? Cute baby dress? Ruffly scarf? Ideas, please!

Do you need anything around your place fixed? I'll send him right over. 

Have a nice weekend! I have the very best intentions of actually sewing. Hopefully will have something to show you soon.

An unenviable task -- a photo story

When you're 3, it might sound like a lot of fun to take a box of Ziploc baggies and throw them all over the kitchen floor, creating a pool of slick plastic fun.

That is, it's fun until your meanie mama says you have to pick up the hundred of so slippery suckers and put them away.

Then, you've got a serious job to do.

Let's see how that unfolds.

Success! Except for that lone remnant on the floor. And the spillage coming out of the drawer. Which you know is going to burst forth with Ziplocs the second you open it.

Still. A for effort.

A Viking's take on Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day. The day to stress out about what box of chocolate best says I-am-so-not-buying-this-at-the-last-minute-really! How's it going for you? Around here, my husband and I are working opposite shifts and won't be seeing one another at all, outside of passing in the hallways at work. So to make up for our lack of actual Valentine's Day romance, we went out on Sunday afternoon.

We had a fine lunch out at this place, then we drove to this antique store. It's MASSIVE. Room after room, two floors. Doodads up the wazoo. We are not antiquers, but we thought it would be fun (and ever so romantic) to wander around with a mission: find a Valentine's Day gift for the other with a $10 budget.

Can I show you what he found me after nearly an hour of searching (and a stern warning that I did not under any circumstances want anything in the "figurine" category)?

I have to say, I was impressed. This is right up my alley, of course. And why wouldn't it be? Written and published in the early 1960s, it's a 16-chapter Bible of sewing. And of course, there are many lessons the McCall's editors want to pass on to me to make sure I am as prim and well-put together as I should be in my hand-sewn duds.

Let's take a look!

Here I get to learn about the appropriate attire for different functions. If I'm going to a "Club Activity," I should wear "Dressmaker suits, simple dresses, such as the sheath, shirtwaist and coast dress are always appropriate. They may have soft touches, but avoid fussy styles." Luckily for the McCall's editors, I almost always avoid the fussy styles, so no issue there!

I also get to learn how to dress myself according to my body type. Like if I'm the "Tall and Heavy" type, I'm told: "Lines for the 'viking' type are a problem." Wow, McCall's, really? A Viking? Seems very unladylike of you.

Here's a handy guide to female body types. It seems back in 1960, the top size --a  misses' -- was for a woman 5-foot-5 or 5-foot-6 and "average" waist and bust. A size 6 would be a 22-inch waist. Me, with my size 30-waist, which fits me into a size 6 or 8 in today's clothes? According to McCall's, I'd be a size 16 or 18, the largest size on their chart. (In other words, Vikingesque!) I guess this just shows the pattern-makers have been crazy all along.

 But all kidding aside, I think this book is great reference material. It covers everything from how to read a pattern to how to construct full garments. I'll use it, of that I'm sure. I'd still really like to make myself a dress someday. So, to my wonderful husband, a big thanks. I love my Valentine's Day sewing book, even if it is a teensy bit insulting in some sections. You clearly get me. And makes a girl feel good.

Happy Valentine's Day friends!