Anywho... here are the pictures of the project I just finshed
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/White_Mage (for reference)
Monday, November 12, 2012
My Apprentice (Update)
I have finished the sewing project that I was working on. Both Monkey AND Bug helped me out with it. I was a little worried about letting Bug help me. She is kind of a spaz. But she did really well. I told her she could sit on my lap and help pull out pins as I was sewing. I also bought a jumper that I want to work with Monkey on. I am going to have her help me as much as much as possible from beginning to end.
Anywho... here are the pictures of the project I just finshed
Anywho... here are the pictures of the project I just finshed
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Thank You for Your Service
Today is Veterans Day. I just want to put up a quick post to say thank you to all those that have served and are currently serving in our military branches.
You are loved and respected. Thank you.
If it wasn't totally creepy, I would hug every military person I met.
You are loved and respected. Thank you.
If it wasn't totally creepy, I would hug every military person I met.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
My Apprentice
When I was younger I swore to myself that I would never be interested in sewing. My mom, 4 of my aunts, grandmother, and great grandmother are/were very crafty people. (HA! See what I did there?) My mom made my wedding dress when I got married 9 years ago. And over the years I have had dozens of quilts and clothing items made for myself and my family. I used to tell my mom that I never needed to learn how to sew because she could. If I ever needed anything, I could pay her to do it.
Since then I had the "ON" switch flipped in my head. I have a sewing machine, a Serger, a body mannequin, 2 Styrofoam heads, and more fabric and patterns than I know what to do with at the moment. I have made costumes for friends and simple clothes for Monkey and Bug.
Currently I am working on a cosplay robe for myself. I am not normally one to dress up, but I want to sew more than I do and therefore I started looking up fun and simple costumes. I am working on a White Mage robe from the Final Fantasy Series. It is not any one specific robe from a specific game. It is my own take on the classic. It is a white robe and it will have normal red triangles, but it will be my own.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/White_Mage
Monkey likes to hang out with me while I am sewing. Most of the time it isnt a big deal. But sometimes I just need my own space. Because Monkey is (almost) 6, I do not let her sew yet by herself. My grandmother bought me a $2000 sewing machine with a bunch of bells and whistles and I am not okay with letting her touch it right now. Monkey is however allowed to touch the pins. Our compromise when she helps me sew is that she can set her hands (gently) on my hands to "help" me guide the fabric, and she can pull the pins out of the fabric and put them on the magnetic pin cushion that I have. She is also not allowed on my lap or near the machines at all when I am using the Serger. I am terrified that she is going to cut her own finger off, cause me to cut my finger off, or cause me to destroy whatever I am working on.
I have told Monkey that I am more than happy to help her learn how to sew, but I want to give it a couple more years. Until then she can keep helping me.
Since then I had the "ON" switch flipped in my head. I have a sewing machine, a Serger, a body mannequin, 2 Styrofoam heads, and more fabric and patterns than I know what to do with at the moment. I have made costumes for friends and simple clothes for Monkey and Bug.
Currently I am working on a cosplay robe for myself. I am not normally one to dress up, but I want to sew more than I do and therefore I started looking up fun and simple costumes. I am working on a White Mage robe from the Final Fantasy Series. It is not any one specific robe from a specific game. It is my own take on the classic. It is a white robe and it will have normal red triangles, but it will be my own.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/White_Mage
Monkey likes to hang out with me while I am sewing. Most of the time it isnt a big deal. But sometimes I just need my own space. Because Monkey is (almost) 6, I do not let her sew yet by herself. My grandmother bought me a $2000 sewing machine with a bunch of bells and whistles and I am not okay with letting her touch it right now. Monkey is however allowed to touch the pins. Our compromise when she helps me sew is that she can set her hands (gently) on my hands to "help" me guide the fabric, and she can pull the pins out of the fabric and put them on the magnetic pin cushion that I have. She is also not allowed on my lap or near the machines at all when I am using the Serger. I am terrified that she is going to cut her own finger off, cause me to cut my finger off, or cause me to destroy whatever I am working on.
I have told Monkey that I am more than happy to help her learn how to sew, but I want to give it a couple more years. Until then she can keep helping me.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Happy Halloween!
I hope that everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. Ours was full of firsts.
This was our first Halloween in this house. This made me a little anxious because it is new territory. Every neighborhood has a "normal" time that they start hitting the streets and knocking on doors. In my old neighborhood it was what I would consider kinda early. Before the sun went down. I wonder if that was because we lived in a kind of ghetto neighborhood and people didn't want to be out much after dark. Just after the sun started to go down we went out to the front yard to try to get a feel for what was going on. There was almost no one on the street. We ended up hanging out and letting the kids play in the yard for a bit before all the other kids started coming out to make the rounds.
This was also the first Halloween that we passed out candy. In the previous 5 years, we would pack up Monkey and Bug and drive down the street to my parents' house. Like I said before, we lived in a not so great neighborhood, and weren't really keen on the idea of going door to door. Needless to say, we weren't home, and therefore we didn't pass out candy. This year I took the kids around as Bear hung out in the front yard with the pumpkins and passed out candy. He said that he was kind of disappointed in the number of kids that came by. We chalked it up to the fact that we kinda live in the corner of our little neighborhood, and the kids probably didn't make the effort to go out of the main area for candy. At the end of the night, we probably got about 25 kids by the house. Not bad, but not great compared to the number of kids that were running around.
This was Bug's first Halloween that she could actually participate in. Last year she was only 15 months old. She was a little ladybug that got pushed around in a stroller all night. This year she was at the front of the line at every house yelling "TRICK TREAT PEASE!"
And finally, this was Monkey's first Halloween after starting school. Just after we left our house, we ended up seeing one of Monkey's friends from school. The two of them decided that they wanted to walk around and trick or treat together. We let Monkey, Bug, and Minnie Mouse (the friend's costume) lead the way while her dad and I kept them on track and moving. Monkey and Minnie we chatty and loud 6 year olds and Bug was more concerned with holding Minnie's hand. If she stopped holding her hand, Bug would run up to her with her hand extended and call out to get her attention. "Minnie! (yes she actually said Minnie and not the girl's real name) Minnie! Hand!" The girl would hold her hand out and walk hand in hand with Bug while talking with Monkey. We also ran into a few other kids that Monkey knew. Little Miss Social would run over to them, hug them, tell them what great costumes they had, tell them bye, and run back over to us.
All in all, this Halloween was really good. We learned a lot about the neighborhood. We saw no aftermath of shenanigans. No toilet papered houses. No smashed pumpkins in the middle of the street. Now that that is over, we have Monkey's 6th birthday in a week and Thanksgiving just a couple weeks after that. Then Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's all lumped up together. It's gonna get busy quick, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
This was our first Halloween in this house. This made me a little anxious because it is new territory. Every neighborhood has a "normal" time that they start hitting the streets and knocking on doors. In my old neighborhood it was what I would consider kinda early. Before the sun went down. I wonder if that was because we lived in a kind of ghetto neighborhood and people didn't want to be out much after dark. Just after the sun started to go down we went out to the front yard to try to get a feel for what was going on. There was almost no one on the street. We ended up hanging out and letting the kids play in the yard for a bit before all the other kids started coming out to make the rounds.
This was also the first Halloween that we passed out candy. In the previous 5 years, we would pack up Monkey and Bug and drive down the street to my parents' house. Like I said before, we lived in a not so great neighborhood, and weren't really keen on the idea of going door to door. Needless to say, we weren't home, and therefore we didn't pass out candy. This year I took the kids around as Bear hung out in the front yard with the pumpkins and passed out candy. He said that he was kind of disappointed in the number of kids that came by. We chalked it up to the fact that we kinda live in the corner of our little neighborhood, and the kids probably didn't make the effort to go out of the main area for candy. At the end of the night, we probably got about 25 kids by the house. Not bad, but not great compared to the number of kids that were running around.
This was Bug's first Halloween that she could actually participate in. Last year she was only 15 months old. She was a little ladybug that got pushed around in a stroller all night. This year she was at the front of the line at every house yelling "TRICK TREAT PEASE!"
And finally, this was Monkey's first Halloween after starting school. Just after we left our house, we ended up seeing one of Monkey's friends from school. The two of them decided that they wanted to walk around and trick or treat together. We let Monkey, Bug, and Minnie Mouse (the friend's costume) lead the way while her dad and I kept them on track and moving. Monkey and Minnie we chatty and loud 6 year olds and Bug was more concerned with holding Minnie's hand. If she stopped holding her hand, Bug would run up to her with her hand extended and call out to get her attention. "Minnie! (yes she actually said Minnie and not the girl's real name) Minnie! Hand!" The girl would hold her hand out and walk hand in hand with Bug while talking with Monkey. We also ran into a few other kids that Monkey knew. Little Miss Social would run over to them, hug them, tell them what great costumes they had, tell them bye, and run back over to us.
All in all, this Halloween was really good. We learned a lot about the neighborhood. We saw no aftermath of shenanigans. No toilet papered houses. No smashed pumpkins in the middle of the street. Now that that is over, we have Monkey's 6th birthday in a week and Thanksgiving just a couple weeks after that. Then Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's all lumped up together. It's gonna get busy quick, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The Dog
After Bear and I got married, we talked more seriously about having kids. I told him that I wanted kids. He said "lets get a puppy instead". So we did. Enter Cami. She was the only girl out of the whole litter of seven or eight puppies that were found abandon in a cardboard box and taken in by the pound. She had huge ears for a very young puppy and they used to flop down over her eyes. She was adorable.
Bear's master plan to put off having kids worked!... for a little bit.
Having a puppy wasn't enough for me. So we got pregnant with Monkey. Now we have a puppy (that Bear occasionally refers to as "failed birth control") and newborn Monkey. We thought that Monkey and Cami would be best friends and grow up together. Six years later, this is not the case.
Monkey likes the dog, but Cami tends to be "aggressively passive". She will live in your personal space bubble unless you force her out. Monkey likes her space.
Bug is the human this dog was meant for. They are two of a kind. Both full of energy, don't listen, and will eat anything. ANYTHING. They chase each other around the house. Cami playfully nips at Bug to get her going again and Bug lays on her and tries to ride on her back. They both have their tolerance thresholds, but they seem to be able to hold each other's attention much longer than anyone else in the family can. It makes for great entertainment watching them run around and wear each other out.
Maybe Bug is half dog and Cami is half Bug? Who knows. All I know is they make each other happy. And even though Cami is/was failed birth control, we all still love her. Most of all her kindred spirit, Bug.
Bear's master plan to put off having kids worked!... for a little bit.
Having a puppy wasn't enough for me. So we got pregnant with Monkey. Now we have a puppy (that Bear occasionally refers to as "failed birth control") and newborn Monkey. We thought that Monkey and Cami would be best friends and grow up together. Six years later, this is not the case.
Monkey likes the dog, but Cami tends to be "aggressively passive". She will live in your personal space bubble unless you force her out. Monkey likes her space.
Bug is the human this dog was meant for. They are two of a kind. Both full of energy, don't listen, and will eat anything. ANYTHING. They chase each other around the house. Cami playfully nips at Bug to get her going again and Bug lays on her and tries to ride on her back. They both have their tolerance thresholds, but they seem to be able to hold each other's attention much longer than anyone else in the family can. It makes for great entertainment watching them run around and wear each other out.
Maybe Bug is half dog and Cami is half Bug? Who knows. All I know is they make each other happy. And even though Cami is/was failed birth control, we all still love her. Most of all her kindred spirit, Bug.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Watering the Flower
Tis the Halloween season. There are lots of reasons to be out and about in costumes. This last Saturday night we went to a church Halloween night with my parents. Bug was supposed to be a lion, but she refused to wear her hoodie with the tail and lion face, and Monkey was a purple flower. Monkey's costume is basically a purple, knee length dress with purple tulle flowers on the bodice, "petals" for the skirt, and green trim.
As we were walking to the car after the festivities were over, I overheard my mom and Monkey talking about her being a flower. My mom had a cup of water and was teasing Monkey that she was going to water her. Monkey was laughing and running away and playing with my mom about it. About a minute later, Monkey was walking in front of me and I couldn't resist. I threw the water that I had on her. She screamed. She cried. I laughed.
She was so upset. She went into insta-drama mode, crying and yelling at me. "Why would you do that?!" "That's not nice!" I told her that she was a flower and that I thought she needed water. Her response was fantastic:
"I'm not a real flower! I don't need to be watered!"
Bear tried to get her to calm down. He tried to explain to her that there was no reason to be so upset. She maintained that it wasn't nice of me to throw water on her and that it was mean of me to surprise her by doing so.
I didn't get her costume wet. She was wearing flip flops, so she didn't have to wear wet shoes or socks. She was dry within a couple minutes.
I knew that by doing that I was going to awaken the drama queen. At least this time I knew what I was doing. It wasn't a random crying fit because of some perceived slight against her. It was totally worth it.
I blame my mom for my sense of humor in torturing my children. She did it to me. I do it to my kids. And I am sure the cycle will continue. I also know that karma comes around, and I am only getting back what I gave my mom. That gives me confidence that one day my kids will find humor in the things from their childhood and not take life too seriously when they have their own kids.
As we were walking to the car after the festivities were over, I overheard my mom and Monkey talking about her being a flower. My mom had a cup of water and was teasing Monkey that she was going to water her. Monkey was laughing and running away and playing with my mom about it. About a minute later, Monkey was walking in front of me and I couldn't resist. I threw the water that I had on her. She screamed. She cried. I laughed.
She was so upset. She went into insta-drama mode, crying and yelling at me. "Why would you do that?!" "That's not nice!" I told her that she was a flower and that I thought she needed water. Her response was fantastic:
"I'm not a real flower! I don't need to be watered!"
Bear tried to get her to calm down. He tried to explain to her that there was no reason to be so upset. She maintained that it wasn't nice of me to throw water on her and that it was mean of me to surprise her by doing so.
I didn't get her costume wet. She was wearing flip flops, so she didn't have to wear wet shoes or socks. She was dry within a couple minutes.
I knew that by doing that I was going to awaken the drama queen. At least this time I knew what I was doing. It wasn't a random crying fit because of some perceived slight against her. It was totally worth it.
I blame my mom for my sense of humor in torturing my children. She did it to me. I do it to my kids. And I am sure the cycle will continue. I also know that karma comes around, and I am only getting back what I gave my mom. That gives me confidence that one day my kids will find humor in the things from their childhood and not take life too seriously when they have their own kids.
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