summer is here

friday was eve's last day of her very first year of school in the new york city public school system. 

she learned to open up her own milk carton, zip up her coat, sound out words, sing in spanish, make purple, write bubble letters, unbuckle and slowly buckle her sandals, count over 100, finally accept not being the fastest, dance the salsa and merengue, cough into her elbow, wait in line, draw the perfect orca whale, tell nonsensical (but apparently hysterical) jokes, roll her r's, do tricks on the playground bars, get over the frustration of not being able to whistle yet, walk quietly in the hall, imitate the principal's daily intercom announcement, and fall in love with school and the two amazing teachers who, i think, she will love forever. it has been a great year. 

and now that summer is really here i'm taking the littles camping. we've got meadows to run in, lakes to swim in, tree frogs to catch, and stars to see. and i've got to convince eve that having to stay out of school for two months is not such a bad deal. after all, at some point she is going to be surrounded by classmates that burst through the school doors screaming and running, nearly trampling a mother going to pick up her daughter from pre-k for the last time, and i certainly can't have her walking slowly behind, crying because she wants "to go to school forever". it is time eve learns the glory of summertime freedom, the glory of swimming everyday and eating popsicles at 10am and flying on airplanes and escaping the usual. today we start.

fodrz day

with father's day sunday and his birthday yesterday, it has been an eventful week for chip. the girls have made him no less than twenty cards (each) and several involving stacks of oversized cardstock stuck together with gluestick. pictured next to the (second of three) official father's day/ birthday gift are the official father's day cards. ruth drew a portrait of the whole family with charlie the size of a small parrot resting on her right shoulder. eve also drew a family portrait but went thematic; a circus family. complete with circus-y building, large spinning wheel, balloon-bearing clown and chip in plaid pants. penned along the top is an excellent example of eve's "sounding it out" skills. makes me want to cry i love these stages so much.

and what were the official father's day/birthday gifts? first: a jacket chip has been thinking about for months. chip never thinks about clothes for months, so we had to. second: a father's day classic that has been long overdue. ties.

his work uniform rarely involves more than jeans and a t-shirt but each sunday and one or two nights during the week chip puts on a suit and tie for church and related meetings. the girls helped me choose the fabric (although their first pick involved sparkly unicorns), i cut one inch off the pattern width (chip is a skinny tie kind of guy) and got to sewing and ironing. 

for the last few inches of the tie we used different fabric for a cool semi-secret surprise. i've gone back and forth about my feelings for the surprise, but now i really like it. chip does not feel the same way. he says he does, but he is a terrible liar. i can't blame him; it is a fact that, aside from the skinniness, he leans pretty conservative and subtle with his ties. however, he likes them and us enough to wear them very happily anyway. and that's part of what makes him our favorite.. that and the fact that in two weeks he will be used to the tiny bit of flash and will be telling the truth when he says he loves them. edit: one week! it took one week!

as for the third offical father's/birthday gift.. it hasn't arrived yet. but hopefully will within the next week or so. which works out well, because a birthday week is much better than just one day of celebrating, right?.. and when father's day is in the mix too, we might as well go double time and make it two solid weeks of gift giving.. (mom, you were a genius when you started the "birthday week" when we were little. it now serves as the perfect cover for my procrastination..).

get ready, chip, the third offical gift will be your favorite.. if for no other reason than you don't have to wear it.

...

edit: fabrics used for ties (all 100% cotton):

tie one: brown and cream stripe (pictures make it look black. it's brown.) by yuwa. brown dots on cream also by yuwa but i couldn't find it available in my hasty search just now.

tie two: both the brownish and pink tiny dot are part of the "30s collection" by atsuko matsuyama. they were bought at purl's soho shop and again, i can't find them online.. (if someone knows a source online, let me know!)

sharing!

they love the shoes! and they're mad at me. hoping to get the most use out of them, i ordered on the big side.. the way too big side.. we'll be waiting until the fall to wear them without tripping. sorry girls. 

several people asked if anjie would be willing to share her design so that you and yours can share in in the rainbow/unicorn/flower heaven too. good news! anjie has made the design available for all to use right here. so go, order the shoes, wait patiently for a few weeks and then revel in the happy gasping and jumping. just don't order too big. they don't like that. 

thank you, again, anjie! 

...

totally unrelated: right now the 14-year-old watching ruth and charlie in the other room (while i hide away in my bedroom trying to get some work done) is trying to play MONOPOLY with ruth. ruth is three years old. my eyes are watering from the laughter i am holding in. 

they will freak out

these shoes should arrive anyday and when they do, the girls are going to go nuts. a unicorn, golden-haired mermaids, a rainbow, crowns, a jaguar, their most favorite colors, fancy flowers, along with their own made-up princess names: "lady eve" and "cinderuthie".. all on one pair of shoes in just the right sizes for their little feet.  

i've seen some examples of customizable shoes in the past; choose which color you want where, a stripe or not there.. but i had no idea that you could go this custom- design your own fabric that the shoes will be made from custom- until chip came home from work one evening raving about the keds his co-worker, anjelika, was designing for herself and a friend in honor of their upcoming trip to disneyworld (awesome). the next day he sent images, i went berzerk and anjie was gracious enough to not only design two pair for the girls using all her perfect illustrations, but she also added princess names on the tongues and little blonde mermaids on the back.  

oh, i cannot wait for them to arrive. after laying on my back, staring at the ceiling for two days and hobbling around the following five (warning about stretching your back in the morning: sometimes it doesn't work out and you finally get the chance to understand what "threw my back out"means..) i will take any bit of excitement i can get. and the excitement and squeals these beauties are going to elicit has me giddy. 

answers with unrelated pictures

i've been getting quite a few questions from you kind readers, and i love them and i have wanted to get back to all of you. but there are two things you should know about me: 1. i am crazy forgetful and, 2. i'm sometimes kind of a slacker. so, if you are one of the people who have sent a question my way without a response, this post is for you.. and for me, because i like looking at these pictures of my little boy wonder and his sisters on his very first birthday.

six inch single layer ice cream cake with whipped cream frosting. charlie is not a fan of the cake-y texture, but is a huge proponent of strawberry ice cream. and whipped cream. and blueberries. after freezing cake, frosted, i made a stencil, placed on cake, filled stencil with new layer of fresh whipped cream, put sprinkles all over that, removed stencil and had a perfect c for the boy. 

QUESTION: "what pattern did you use?" 

ANSWER: unless i have noted otherwise in the post, the pattern i am using is my own. 

QUESTION: "do you sell your patterns? where can i get them?"

ANSWER: i do not produce or sell them.. yet! but plans are in the works, my friends. if all goes well, or well enough, i am hopeful to have a small line of patterns available in the fall. i will certainly keep you updated and maybe take a poll or two along the way. 

QUESTION: "how do you do freezer paper transfers?"

ANSWER: first off, let me say how impressed i am with many of you scouring the archives and tolerating the slightly wonky photo formatting that was a result of importing from my old blog space. freezer paper transfers were all the rage when i was first introduced to this craft blog world, and they are good fun. i have sent a tutorial to many of you, but am too lazy to take decent pictures to post here when there are several tutorials out there that do a lovely job. like this one. 

QUESTION: "how do you get such vibrant play dough colors?"

ANSWER: i use a no-cook playdough recipe using powdered alum and boiling water, which usually results in less bold colors.. enter: gel food coloring. i was not stingy with the stuff and when used in combination with some regular liquid drops, i got some really atomic colors (i will add this information to the "kids zone" post shortly). i bet the paste food coloring that you can get at cake decorating/ candy making stores would be awesome too.  

ruth is always fancy. and a little crazy. the funny, good-natured kind of crazy.

QUESTION: "where do you find your fabric?"

ANSWER: all over the place, but consistently: purl and recently, denver fabrics. a beast of a collection to get through but i have been really happy with what i've bought- and at pretty decent prices. there are also a few places in the garment district i visit, but rarely since i've got the kids to tote around and trying to keep track of them among all the rows of giant bolts is no fun. lastly, i haunt all the really run down thrift shops when i visit family in oregon each summer and usually score some pretty sweet stuff.. the smell goes away after a few washes.. 

QUESTION: "how do you like squarespace?"

ANSWER: love it. really love it. took some adjusting to, but that was quick and i can't imagine going back now. the support people are amazing and so friendly when dealing with my idiot questions. 

she's asleep here. and no matter how many times you close them all the way, eve's eyes always go back to being open just enough to make everyone uncomfortable. 

QUESTION: "do you bleach your daughters' hair?

ANSWER: no! who do you think i am? ok, fine, this was never asked by a reader here, but somebody on the street asked me recently.. and despite the craziness that would have to be deep inside me to consistently bleach my three-year-old's hair, i liked the question. it made me feel like my mom. i have clear memories people asking my mother if she bleached my hair when i was little. i don't know why, exactly.. maybe they thought it the only possibility when compared to my two sisters- one brunette, the other red-head?.. i didn't pay much attention to that when little. instead i spent all my emotional energy being outraged and frustrated by the fact that i was, on several occasions, mistaken for a boy.. once while wearing my favorite dress..  

did i forget any? probably. if so, ask again. if it is a popular question, i'll post the answer here. otherwise i'll do my best to get back to you as soon as i can. of course, if there is anymore crazy sickness in our house like the last couple days, all promises go out the window.. hooray for the (not swine) flu!

happy birthday charlie

magical charlie. just when i think i can't love and adore you any more, i do. just when i am certain there is nothing you could ever do to top your knee-bounce-head-banging to a good tune, you take off into the tightest, fastest little circles and figure-eights your crawling body will allow in response to an especially good beat. just when i think you've outgrown it, i am woken up as you tug fistfuls of my hair as hard as you can and flash the happiest smile when you finally see my eyes. i don't think you will ever get cuter than when you stick your tongue out and smile or when you pull your arm back, way back, when you are just a little nervous. nor can i imagine your smiling, arm-waving, kiss-giving response to your sisters ever being sweeter.. but then, you've outdone yourself constantly for the last twelve months, so who am i to say..

oh, charlie. there really is something magical about your relaxed, playful ways. you get our jokes, but don't always think they're funny. you throw your whole body forward and bury your head during a good laugh and have the saddest sloping back and hanging head when you are sad. you love almost everyone you meet and happily tolerate the others. the swings leave you screaming with laughter. the big kids running ahead leave you kicking your legs as hard and as fast as they go. you can't wait to be running and jumping right alongside, and you will be, soon. your cautious standing will turn to reckless sprints, your sweet jibberish will turn to entertaining conversation and your little pointer finger will take a well-deserved rest. you will finally be able to go up to your sisters' loft bed all on your own and know how to get those blocks to make noises without pushing them across the entire apartment for help. you'll be able to hold your own cup without getting soaked and finally, finally you'll know what every button and switch and outlet you come across is really for.. but for now, let's just clap and play and laugh while my arms turn to jelly from throwing you in the air. let's just cozy you as you suck your thumb, put your other hand down my shirt and watch your sisters play princess. lets just keep doing the things we are doing, because man, it has been pretty great so far.. you've brought an entire year of magic to an already charmed home and we all love you an insane amount because of it. happy birthday, my little boy. let's brave the rain and go find some balloons.