waiting for the heat

i say that we are waiting for the heat now, as we search for socks to warm our chilly toes just after peeling off three sets of wet, cold clothes from our morning walk to school, and i mean it. but really, when the heavy heat of new york summer hits i will hardly be welcoming it. for now, though, on this shivery morning, we are waiting anxiously for some warmth and we are preparing. 

ruth wears her skirted swimsuit and practices "swimming" in the bathtub daily. eve discusses our upcoming summer stay in oregon and prepares for the risk of tsunamis (she asked for an example of a word that started with "ts" and out came "tsunami". we're now going on week five of tsunami-related conversations... if only i had thought to say "tsar"..). little charlie remains blissfully unaware of plans beyond his daily task of finding the colored pencils and distributing them as far and wide throughout the house as possible, but his little legs are practicing standing on their own so he can be ready for the summer playing. and me, i am sewing. sewing for the day when we no longer need layers or socks or something warm to drink. 

summer sewing is my favorite. skirts, easy dresses, uncomplicated shirts, jumpers and shorts. done. 

these shirts will be repeated in several different fabrics for the upcoming season. maybe with different details, or maybe the same. i'm a sucker for rolled sleeves and ribbon loops.. 

there will be more shorts, too. i always forget how easy pants and shorts are. in fact, i'm almost tempted to say they are easier than skirts.. they come together so quickly. testing my pattern by making three pair in one day was easy and totally do-able, not torture, for me or the kids. and even if only the final pair fit the way i wanted (flowered denim wins), i can tell myself that the other two pair are great too. after all, they are shorts, and shorts don't need to be perfect. shorts just need to allow little legs to run and play and dance in the sprinklers. and that is the glory of summer sewing. 

someday little charlie will be included in the sewing. i have no choice, really. soon all he has will be too heavy and too short for his skinny legs. and soon i will not be crouching in front of this computer, rubbing my feet together for warmth, i will be on the playground watching as all three red-faced kids run and jump and scream in the heat while i tap my toes in the spray of bursting water balloons, wishing for cooler days.  

today is tuesday.

today i am doing the laundry. 

ruth is being "mama bear".

charlie just wants to be held. 

chip is on a business trip. 

and eve bowled a 36 on her class field trip. highest score in the group. 

not a bad day. 

. . .

thank you, all, for the easter dress love! to those who asked, if i can get myself to speed up and focus a bit, i plan to put some sort of instructional for the flower neckline together soon(ish). you'll like it, it's time consuming but fairly simple. 

five! five! FIVE!

this little love is FIVE today. i can remember being five. i got a tea set, loved my rainbow-sleeved shirt-tails shirt and had my first official friends birthday party. what will eve remember from this day? will it be riding daddy's shoulders to school? waking up with the birthday banner (finally) finished and displayed in her honor? ruthie shouting over and over and over "it your birthday, eve! it your birthday!!"? maybe she'll remember her baby brother swatting at the shower curtain, trying to get in with her and soaking himself in the process. she might remember me sewing her birthday shirt seconds before she needed to leave (and minutes after). possibly she'll remember sitting on our bed opening birthday cards (cards in the morning, presents at night) from her dear family. she might remember her own disbelief "am i really five now? really? five?" or she may remember none of it. but i will remember. i will remember rushing and sewing her shirt to help make her special day just a little more special. i will remember ruth and charlie and chip slowing our usual morning routine to celebrate. i will remember looking at this big, beautiful little girl and feeling about her now the way i felt the moment she was brought into view and placed on my chest. absolute amazement. i will remember sitting here typing, my eyes stinging as i think of how much this little one is to me, to our family. she is our first. the protector, the encourager, the comforter. she has so much growing to do, so much to learn and be. but for now i will not think of that. i will freeze time and sit in awe as i think that she has been ours for five years. . .five years. . .

and then i will get busy. because this one is also a taskmaster. banana cupcakes to bake, crowns to cut out, goodie bags to tie for our class celebration this afternoon and then there is the dinner to prepare, rainbow cake to assemble and gifts to wrap for our family celebration tonight. we'll see how much happens. regardless, we'll be having a fun day. the perfect day. just like five years ago. 

the birthday shirt with the number eve is now thrilled to claim as her very own, thanks to my recently re-united best friend; freezer paper. disregard non-ironed back. and wet, messy hair. there's only so much a sentimental procrastinator can get done on a great morning like this. . . happy friday the 13th! (clearly, always a lucky day around here).

R dress

if there is an "R" anywhere in sight ruthie will find it. "that my letter!" "R! R!" finding her very own letter makes her hour, and hearing that little voice shout in glee makes mine. 

two years ago (three?) when eve was little(r) i decided it was time to start making the dresses i had floating around in my head. a dress a lot like this was the first thing i made. eve wandered around brooklyn, twirling and showing off her letter E with pride. last year ruthie started trying to wear that dress. she would complain about the E not being her letter. i would complain as i tried to pull the dress closed over ruthie's belly (these littles have such different bodies). . .  no more complaining! out came the muslin, the freezer paper and fabric paint, and yesterday my littlest girl got a dress just right for her. now she can always find her very own letter, even in the off chance that we find ourselves without the signs and graffiti of the city to search. 

arrows and (more) hearts

let's face it, valentines without candy aren't much use to kids. but, we're giving it a go anyway. with a little felt and a lot of help from eve, bracelets were made for the classmates. will they be passed by as the greedy little hands search for more pink laffy taffy? probably. but i remain hopeful that these little bracelets will find a home on the little four-year-old wrists at some point. the arrows should lure in the danger seeking boys while bright pink hearts are like a siren's song to this group of little girls.  

for the girls

for the boys

eve was busy cutting out hearts and addressing the cards while i trimmed her edges, rounded corners, and sewed pink and red buttons for the bracelet closure. we both "threaded" the hearts/arrows on the bands and eve took particular care assigning each friend a specific bracelet. she amazed me over and over again with remembering the assignments perfectly (i tried to trick her). . .  a quick project that should complement the kit kat (oh, i hope there are kit kats) and m&m hands. 

happy valentine's day to everyone! and to those celebrating president's day, enjoy the long weekend! we'll be making our log cabin cake in honor of mr. lincoln and enjoying some long overdue time together. 

hearts in their hair

because they are little girls who love to talk in high voices and wear high shoes. and because no matter how foul the mood brewing between their little eyebrows, when given a heart- any heart- their world becomes warm and bright and magical again. ponies, unicorns and princesses return and they are back to the work of rescuing us all from the ever present danger of hot lava.

and because if you're going to wear a garland of bright pink felt circles and hearts in your hair, this is the week to do it, right?

++

i took pictures of the girls after writing the above. turns out hearts on the head are not the cure for everything, especially for a mom who won't stop taking pictures of girls who have better things to do. . . 

hideout skirt

the stiffest denim known to man. sometimes i pull fabric out of the hatch and wonder what i was thinking when i bought it. . . especially when there is three yards of it taking up our very very precious closet space. . . but then i make a skirt for my daughter out of it. not only does the indestructible skirt look fine on the child, but in a desperate situation, it could also serve as a lampshade. brilliant purchase after all. 

you should have seen the eye-roll eve gave me when i mentioned the skirt-as-lampshade nonsense. i thought her eyes might actually fall into the back of her head forever. apparently, much more serious business was at hand. business like finding the perfect "hideout" for the family of dolls on the run from "mean animals . . . so they won't eat them up." but apparently the family can spare their feet. . . who's rolling their eyes now, eve? 

obnoxious mothering aside, i really think a nice, wide hem goes a long way in making a simple handmade skirt successful. it looks great and you've got the option of lengthening when needed. especially useful for those years when kids never seem to get wider, only longer and longer. barring any unforeseen run-ins with mean animals. 

monday favorites: on thursday

monday favorites, along with our little family, took a holiday in honor of martin luther king, jr. this week. we ventured to the home of some lovely friends where we made a snowman, frolicked in the snow, ice skated on the neighborhood pond (i know) and made and ate a ton of sushi. 

tuesday chip flew across the country to shoot a commercial. eve woke up and burst into tears when she saw only charlie and me in our double bed. taking some comfort from the letters- complete with cartoons of the girls- that chip had left for each of them, eve decided to write a letter of her own to her daddy. as she dictated the letter to me (later to be copied in her own writing) she could hardly keep from total break down. she made it through the morning and went off to school with the news of her daddy's departure to share with teachers and classmates. 

clearly, a paper chain was in order. we love the paper chain countdown. to anything, really, but especially for a loved daddy's return. six little circles linked together and hung in the window to encourage my sad little girl who cannot stop telling me "i just didn't want my daddy to fly on that plane to california." she was giddy as she clipped off the links for wednesday and thursday. and i was a little bit, too. things really are better with a paper chain. 

++

an hour after i typed the above i walked out of the kitchen to find an empty window, paper chain scraps on the floor and scissors in an ecstatic ruthie's hands. "mommy! now it's evie's birthday! now it can be here!! hooray!" i love barely-three-year-olds. eve will not be happy. but at least now we we have a reason for another, much longer, paper chain.

++

more diary entries to come for next week's "monday favorites." more awesomeness from young chip. also, when i get the chance i'll put together the quilt tutorial. you will laugh with glee, it's so easy. 

monday favorites: part one

i don't mind mondays. in fact, i like them. i like having a fresh start. i like sending chip and eve off into the world and holing in with the two littles. i do laundry and clean the house, ruthie plays games and draws while charlie goes about his business of scooting, crawling, intensely searching for paper - any paper - to shove into his wet mouth. nap times come and go, lunch is consumed, a treat is made before we three head out to reclaim the fourth from school. more drawing, more playing, more cleaning, cooking, welcoming daddy home, eating, playing, planning, singing, two games (or three. . . or 12 if the girls can get us to agree) and finally, putting to bed.

i like the monday routine. and i'm about to like it even more. starting now. favorite mondays. or monday favorites. random things, any things, that fall into my wide category of "favorite." let's begin.

chip and i rang in the new year reading excerpts from our childhood journals to each other. we laughed and laughed and got embarrassed a bit (or a lot) as we revisited our old selves. . . chip's obsession with he-man toys. my obsession with proving my little brother got everything he wanted. our reflections on life as 12-year-olds. . . the gems in these journals are incredible. 

 

chip's journals include a lot of drawings and occassionally, my favorite, the beginnings of very promising comic books. comic books like TIMBERLOCK: MAN OF THE WOODS. amazing. i can hardly stand the suspense. or the erased pencil lines. few things are more adorable than watching people diligently erase, flip their pencil over and try again. especially-13-year-olds who grow up to be my husband.

weirdest teacher gift ever?

well, technically, these were for the class. a mrs. field and mrs. morales doll. i thought they'd be strange and entertaining for the classroom's dramatic play area. after all, what student doesn't want a chance to be in charge of the teacher for once? 

it seemed like the perfect idea in the wee hours of the morning while chip and i were working on them, but when school time came i was a bit nervous that the teachers would not only have no idea what to make of them, but would think they were a serious gift. a very weird and slightly disturbing serious gift. but, happily, mrs. field received them with a big laugh and the two teachers immediately began concocting plans for the many jokes and fun to be had with the crazy little dolls. 

the bubble jet set and rinse that i have stored for the last two years were finally put to use and totally worked. after a wash and a dry, the image was holding fast. eve and ruth have begun making demands for their own dolls, so naturally we will have a little family soon. perhaps even an extended family in doll form, a la angrychicken. and maybe we'll throw in some animals too, a la salvor. . . yes, we'll definitely need some animals. . . the bad luck continues around here. after a break of several months we decided to surprise the girls with a new fish for christmas. in the middle of stuffing stockings chip called my name, i looked over to see him holding the pitcher with our beautiful new goldfish. . . belly-up. at least the girls never saw it during the five hours it was alive. 

more to come on the christmas festivities and a few other last minute projects. . .  happy holidays!