memory

my brooklyn BFF, alysha, once told me i had an amazing memory. this was before the second child came and absorbed a large majority of what were my remaining brain cells (its very complicated and very scientific, i don't want to bore you with it). now my memory is just embarassing. i've always been slightly disnomic, but things have gotten so much worse. it's not only that i can't think of a word when i need it, i can't remember the answer to the question i just asked (and got an answer to) three minutes earlier. i can't even remember asking the question. why is this? are there some special exercises i can do? if possible, i'd like to avoid the shame that comes with acting senile at age 28.

in honor of my failing memory, i give you this, which i love, and which i can actually claim zero credit for finding. thank you, mim, for sending it my way.

also, in case i completely obliterate the memory of my birthday or mother's day 2007, here are the very fruitful fruits of the holidays:

if i were a songwriter i'd write a little diddy about saltwater sandals. i am the proud owner and wearer of four pair. nothing says warm weather and girly fun like a pair of saltwater sandals. i was filled with near-teary-eyed joy when i found they now make the yellow patent leather for adults.

three things to know about me:

1. i love shoes. always have (mom can back me up on this one).

2. i love yellow.

3. i love patent leather. couldn't be happier that the world is with me on this one for now.

very big thank you to papa and didi (mom and dad) for helping fund the purchase of these babies.

ebay. not as ideal as i'd hoped. but the full skirt is pretty cute. the girls shriek with delight when i twirl in it. of course, while they're shrieking i'm stopping, sitting down, holding my head and fighting off the nausea.

see #1 and #2 listed above.

very big thank you to gammy and gampy (bob and mary) for funding these purchases.

i love it. such an obnoxiously big ring but so cute. perfect with all the dresses i've got lined up for the summer. courtesy of chip.

mother's day goods:

1. delicious crepes (chip flipped one right in the pan without a spatula for the first time and now considers himself an expert. he has has been trying to instruct me on the proper technique ever since. never mind that i showed him how to do it and have been doing it myself for years. . .). eaten way too quickly to document.

2. flowers. tulips and lilacs. perfect.

3. a nap. with my favorite three-year-old.

4. a clean house that wasn't cleaned by me. mom, i finally understand why you always asked for that every birthday and mother's day. sorry i never gave it to you. i hope one of your better children did.

i'll save pictures of the apartment for another post.

thank you mom and dad, bob and mary, chip, and girls. i will never forget you.

p.s. i also send a heartfelt birthday thanks to alysha and mim for amping up my accessories arsenal. mim gave me great hair barretts and headband (way too lazy to try to do my hair for a picture). along with a delicious and child-free brunch, alysha gave me a great yellow ring that is in a "safe place" that i can't remember the location of. i'm serious.

time

of all the things i wish for (and i wish for a lot) i wish most of all that our little family had more time. time to just be together, time for the girls to hang out with dad and time for me just just sit back and enjoy.

my wish came true friday. chip miraculously walked in the door just after 6pm. after weeks of his earliest arrival home being after 10pm, and often after 1am, i mean it when i say it was a miracle.

so, we all headed outside to enjoy our urban home.



really great.

when i don't get time to lounge around brooklyn with chip and the girls, i'm usually spending my time pushing the double-wide stroller through it. but there are times when i'm just home with the girls and a sewing project.

here are a few of the completed projects from the last little bit (i love show and tell):

blue dress: many thanks to ms. wendy mullin and her built by wendy patterns.

easter skirt for eve (note the big yellow sash) and easter dress for ruthie (bright yellow buttons down the back- i really should get better pictures. . .): all me. nothing's easier than super simple gathered skirts and dresses for little girls!

yellow shirt worn at bobby's wedding and made on mary's dreamy bernina: more thanks to ms. mullin. same pattern as the blue dress

yellow/polka dot shirt: simplicity 4589 with a few adjustments. my wonky arms really finish the look. . .

blue dress: just so you could see it has pockets and a really cute shape. having trouble with the picture quality here. i'm close to unlocking the secrets of photoshop. close.

time to get eve to bed. chip is reading this and this to her right now. classics from our childhood. she's in heaven. so is chip. and really, so am i.

piles

my little apartment is overflowing with piles. piles of fabric that i keep collecting. piles of clothes that need to be folded. piles of toys to be put away. piles of coats to put in storage. piles of shoes to find a place for. piles of the nytimes that i haven't been able to read. piles of projects to start. piles of books. piles of lists that involve, in one way or another, the piles of things i need to do with my day, week, month and years. . . and there is no end. these piles are going to rule my life, for the rest of my life.

but, i signed up for it. i got married. i moved to new york. i had two children and then bought a 650square foot apartment to cram us and our lives into. i started making. and, i love it.

make no mistake, i hate the perpetual cleaning and organizing and trying to find space in our tiny spot. i hate dishes and ironing. but i love our little home in our sketchy neighborhood. i love the girls with their piles and the little hearts and bodies that create them. i love chip and the piles and piles of paper that have always trailed him. i love making and all the piles that build during the process. these piles are mine, my family's.

so, this blog is created (after a year of consideration) to show what i, katie, did (and do) with those piles and the little life they represent. i've got a lot to share.

welcome.