Rainy Day Play

I know I keep talking about the girls' kitchen, but really, it's the big news around here these days. This morning I put together a little banner for decoration for them. Right now it's hung up with Scotch tape. Actually... right at this very moment it's lying in the little sink because it fell down... again. Hopefully soon it'll get hung up properly.

This is just the closer version of it. I realize the 'C' looks a little hairy... maybe I should remedy that. It was a good way to use up some fabric scraps, of which I have soooooooooo many! Greta loves the kitchen just as much as Anja does. In fact, Martin and I were talking tonight about how fun Greta is becoming. (Okay, okay, we talk about that every night.) But really! She mimicks Anja so much and is SO adorable, and really is starting to play. She is very independent in ways. Yesterday (yesterday was 70 degrees!) when Martin got home from work we took a walk across the bridge. On the way home we let the girls walk across the bridge, and when it was time to strap up and go home, Greta DID NOT want to go. She was not happy in the wrap, she was not happy in the stroller, and so Martin carried her home in his arms and she STILL screamed almost the entire way and tried to get free and walk. And maybe it'll be different in the real summertime, but this was early springtime weather. As soon as the sun went down we were all freezing and Anja was begging for a bottle and falling asleep in the wrap! Anyway, Greta is a real mover and shaker. She loves to dance. As soon as music comes on, she scrambles to her feet so she can do her little bouncy dance.

The absolute cutest thing Greta does though, is when you give her a baby doll. She will coo at it and hug it and now she's even started patting it! And granted, it looks more like she is beating it while sucking on its head, but I know maternal instincts when I see them. She is SO SWEET. Both of these girls are so sweet. Greta knows how to treat her baby dolls because she watches Anja who is SO good to her dolls all day long. Other than changing clothes, I think that's what Anja does most often during the day--care for her dolls. It's really lovely.

Another lovely thing was today's rain. I had imagined some quiet indoor time (I made a felt board in the morning and started cutting out shapes but didn't get very far, and Anja didn't really seem too thrilled with the entire thing, so I put it away for later) but Anja had different ideas. She wanted to draw with sidewalk chalk, so while Greta was taking her afternoon nap, Anja and I had some quality porch time. She had gotten her Magic Cabin catalogue in the mail and I had my Mothering magazine, so we took our magazines outside and had a really great time. Anja is SO GOOD. She likes to run up and down the driveway, and she always knows to turn onto the sidewalk instead of running into the street. (I think it really helps that our driveway and sidwalk are light colored and the end of the driveway that goes to the road is dark.) She has never run into the street, or even near it. What a good girl! Anyway, while we were out there it started to rain and Anja was amused by that. Then it started to absolutely pour and all these mud puddles grew in the sidwalks, and what's a girl to do on a rainy spring day but jump in the mud puddles?

I'm not sure these overalls will ever be the same! But she had a lovely time, and it was only a matter of minutes after changing into warm, dry clothes that I found her like this:

The cat had been there moments before. (P.S. in case there's never been a picture posted of it, that is the cat quilt I made her for Christmas from that kit my mom bought for me. It's really cute and the middle is that cat print, surrounded by squares, and some of the squares are furry!)

So anyway, we had a really nice day. Anja still went down not long after her normal bedtime, so our time spent playing in the rain must've really worn her out!

During Greta's morning nap I finished the pants for her that match Anja's brown dress. Hopefully there will be pictures soon. I love sewing with Anja. She sits in a chair next to me and helps me snip the threads while she plays with various things from my sewing box like ribbons, elastics, and stuffing. She is such a good little companion.

I don't know if it's here to stay, but I'm awfully happy for this appearance of Spring!

Spring Sensations

While taking the dog out yesterday afternoon, I realized for the first time that Spring is really coming! Our daffodils are coming up, and they even have BUDS!! I am thrilled. Yesterday the girls and I walked over to Rubia and purchased some flowers. Annoyingly, when I got there I thought it was half-price day, so I spent WAY more than I ever would have normally. But that's okay... the house is brighter, and maybe that is worth the money.

It's become kind of a tradition that whenever my Mothering magazine comes in the mail, I leave the girls to have some Daddy Time and take off to enjoy a hot beverage in a cozy chair that is not in my home, and read as much of my magazine as possible until mama duties call. Tonight was the night! We planned it better this time--I had the car, so I picked Martin up from work and he dropped me down the road at the Main Street Starbucks, then took the girls to Target just to hang around for an hour or so. The girls were great for him, and I got more time than usual! Often in the evenings Greta won't let me leave, and if she does, it isn't for long. Tonight I got through HALF my magazine before Anja started falling asleep and Greta started getting grumpy. It was lovely!! I know this is a little scummy of me, considering my views on local businesses, but I am beginning to kind of like Starbucks. I still don't really care for their coffee, but they have some really yummy hot chocolate. Also, sadly, we don't go to Vienna anymore. Their management has changed, and the place is going downhill fast. They cut corners--their Vanilla Chai tastes more like water with some cardomom in it than like the liquid sugar cookie of the olden times, and to be honest, the new manager is kind of a jerk. And lazy. Not only that, but their prices have skyrocketed along with all the other negative changes, and I just can't pay $4.00 for a drink that doesn't even taste good. It's really depressing, but I guess it's best to leave it as a fabulous place of our past and make other coffee shops (like K.Dees, which closes annoyingly early,) our place of choice. The other thing about Starbucks--and I know this is part of their horrible marketing scheme--is that they are so blasted convenient. Short on time? Zip over to the levee! On your way to get Martino from work? Pop in at the Main Street location! Headed out of town? Zip through a drive-thru near any major highway! I know, I know... I am a huge sucker. But it DOES feel cozy to hunker down in one of their big armchairs and listen to the coffee shop bustle. Anyway, I had a quite enjoyable time by myself this evening and was glad to see the girls and bring them home to bed. (Martin took care of their dinner. Please don't ask what it was.)

I finished the rag rug for the girls' kitchen yesterday! I am very happy with the way it turned out--especially considering this is a craft I learned many, many years ago, and was able to pick up and do again without any kind of challenge. Easy-peasy! I have another of these (that my mom made--I just tied it off when I found it as an unfinished project in my closet) on Greta's highchair. It looks cute, but it's a stupid place for a rug, considering how disgusting it gets. Still though, it keeps her from slipping, which was the whole point.

Next up on the Kitchen Remodeling Project is to find a shelf and hang some pictures. I went to Goodwill today and got a frame to fit a card that Greta got in the mail the other day from her godparents. It has bears on it, and Anja loves it, so I thought she'd like to have it framed and hanging in her kitchen corner. WRONG! She completely lost it when I put the card in the frame. Evidently she'd rather carry it around with her and let Greta eat it than preserve it behind glass. Well, whatever.

And speaking of Greta Bird, there may soon be a post full of new wardrobe items.... depending on how fast I can get things done. I took down my sewing machine this morning because I was sick of it being on the dining room table, being the first thing anyone saw upon entrance into our house. UGLY. However, it was just this afternoon that I took it out of its box again and started another project. This time I set it up on a different table in the dining room, the one where I got so mad at Martin for leaving his gun cleaning gear/work stuff/random junk he acquires throughout any given day. Shame on me!

I did find a few repurposeful treasures at the Goodwills today. We'll see if my imagination and my hands can match up to make a few cute somethings!

Sundays on the Blogs

Wow, it seems like everyone gave up the blogs for Lent, so now Sundays are the only interesting days to read. Just goes to show how much holier everyone else is than I am!!! I got my laptop on the first day of Lent and had no intention of giving up ANYTHING internet-related, although I did think about what a nice lenten sacrifice that would be. But don't worry--I know what a rotten person I am, you don't need to tell me.

As you can see from the pictures above, the new little kitchen is getting a lot of use! We shoved the table over to make room for it, and oddly enough, it actually makes the kitchen feel BIGGER. Weird, huh? Our intent is to make that entirely the girls' corner, with a little shelf of some sort, and little pictures at their height, so it'll be a dressed up corner of the house that is just for them. Also, I only have a few more rounds on the rag rug I'm making for it. Babies are fine in their own way, but kids are pretty awesome.

We've had a pretty delightful Sunday, all things considered. Anja is battling a pretty monsterous cold. Actually, it wasn't so bad until yesterday, and then today she's been kind of droopy, but better than yesterday. Our alarm was set for 7:00, we got up not TOO long after the alarm, but Greta was so crabby all morning that I wasn't able to get ready for the 9:30 mass... and then 10:00 came and I STILL wasn't ready. So we had to go to the noon. Martin had taken Greta for a drive to (successfully) get her to sleep, and he called and said he had a plan for our morning, so Anja and I were ready shortly after 10:00 and when he pulled up we jumped in and were on our way. His plan included a stop at Starbucks for coffee, where I ran in for it. An old lady complimented my outfit, which was SUCH a relief, because I really wasn't so sure about it when I left the house!! In fact, part of my outfit is a sweater that my mother-in-law gave to me loooooooooong before she was my mother-in-law. I think she gave me this sweater when I was a senior in highschool. Haha! Anyway, we got some coffees then went for a little Sunday drive. It was beautiful! And both girls slept almost the entire time! We came back for the noon mass, and have had a lazy rest of our Sunday. Now Anja is going to bed and Greta will soon follow, and Martin and I will then make a pizza for ourselves for dinner.

Do you think I'll die from chewing gum with an expiration date of May 2007?

There was a short time after highschool when I didn't find Sundays to be so depressing. Now I do. Again. We have these nice weekends together as a family, then it's back to the daily grind on Monday. Which is fine, because I like what I do.... but it's always better when Martino is around. And easier too. For example: Today during Greta's nap, Anja and I took a little walk in the rain over to see some tiny plastic horses in a window display. We couldn't have done that if it weren't the weekend. But now it's Sunday evening and tomorrow is Monday and I have that yucky school-night feeling. Ugh. Oh well.... maybe we'll get some springtime temperatures and the girls and I can get out of the house and do something interesting. Some friends of mine have a llama farm and I am DYING to take the girls out there. Just as soon as it gets tolerably warm...

And that's about it. I never did get to the flower store this week (well, I did make it to one, but they were closed), but we got a pineapple at the grocery and are using it at a centerpiece until it's time to eat it!

I've been chewing this gum for about ten minutes, and I'm not dead yet. I think that's a good sign!

Dressing with Children

I find getting dressed to sometimes be really frustrating since having children. I can either wear something loose-fitting and look pregnant, or wear something more fitted, which shows those unfortunate belly leftovers, and look... pregnant. *sigh* I look at those skinny sorority girls who are able to wear the empire-waist shirts that just drape over their bellies and could very well BE maternity shirts, and I think, "I hope you know what you've got!!!" Oh well. Today I am wearing a very cute, but not very flattering top with my bulky brown sweater over it. I guess it doesn't matter if I look preggo though, since probably nobody will see me anyway.

Although, we might take a walk this afternoon, if the high gets high enough!! Anja has croup and I think a cool-air walk would help her little cough. She's such a good girl. Last night she would wake up barking and one of us would take her out bundled in quilts to sit on the porch swing. After awhile we'd ask her if she wanted to go back to bed, and she'd say yes, and off we went back to bed. I would like to say to anyone who told us (or thought it and didn't say it aloud) that we were ruining our child's life by instilling poor sleep habits that she is turning out to be a FINE sleeper. So, ha.

Anyway, we might take a walk over to Alley Flowers for a little bouquet for the kitchen table. I feel it needs a little sprucing up since we shoved it over to make room for THE NEW PLAY KITCHEN FOR THE GIRLS!!!!!!!!!! I will admit that it was delivered yesterday and we couldn't even wait for the weekend to set it up. Martin set it up at 10:00 last night so Anja could wake up to it as a surprise this morning. I know, I know, we have NO will power. But I have to say... it was awfully fun to see her excitement this morning when she came down and saw it. And then later when Greta woke up, it was the first thing Anja wanted to do, introduce her to their new kitchen. And it looks adorable in the corner, and Martin rearranged some of our kitchen things, like our potato crock and basket of utensils-that-don't-fit-anywhere-else. Everything looks very good, except the table. I think I'm in the market for a new kitchen table.... smaller... square... not crappy.... If it's warm enough on our walk, maybe we will come home by way of the antique store and just pop in to see what they have. Although my budget is more "side of the road" than antique store. It's worth a gander anyway.

I am crotcheting a rag rug for their little kitchen. I think it'll be finished today. Also, Anja's finished dress turned out to be pretty cute! Now on to the matching outfit for Greta, and maybe a few more simple dresses and we'll be all set for Spring.

Waiting for Spring

We are growing things around here. So far they look like weeds, but the package promises they will be teddy bear sunflowers and zennias. We shall see! And the other day I got an early Easter present from my mother-in-law:

Can you say FABULOUS?!? She couldn't contain her excitement over them until Easter--she had to give them right away. And I'm soooooooo happy to have them sitting on my dining room table... with all my other fifty-some projects. Did I say fifty? I meant fifty-thousand-some. And due to no crafting space of my own, what once was the tidiest room in the house now looks like this:

The brown thing is a dress for Anja that I just finished about ten minutes ago. I can't tell if it's really cute or really frumpy. The trim fabric will eventually be a top and some trim on matching brown pants for Greta. And seriously, who keeps their ironing board in the dining room??!?!? All this sewing is making us trashier than ever! And speaking of trash....

Today is Wednesday, which means TRASH DAY!!!! This is Anja waving to the garbage men. I reeeeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy have to write a letter to the city sanitation deptartment and tell them how much it means to us that they wave to Anja EVERY WEEK. And she waves back now! Very cutely. It's what she's doing in the picture, with her hand all curled up. Cuteness.

Yesterday while I was making dinner, I set Anja up with a bowl of water and some cups and bathtub toys on the kitchen floor. Anja is very careful with water, pouring gently and even though I'd put a towel down just in case, not a drip was dropped. Then Greta woke up from her nap. And I knew I wouldn't be able to keep her away from it (she looooooves water) and it would be equally unfair to put it away and end the fun. Enter: Spring raincoats!

A perfect way to keep everyone relatively dry and happy. Oh, how I am so looking forward to rainy day walks!

And that's it for today, folks.

Little Boxes Made of Ticky Tacky

Yesterday I broke out the old banjo and introduced Anja and Greta to some Melvina Reynolds music, followed by Pete Seeger Radio on Pandora. They LOVED it. It's funny to see their differences--Greta loves all music, and especially peppy stuff, she smiles and dances right when it comes on. Anja just now has started dancing to music (she's a terrible dancer... mostly she just "jumps" around, but she's really bad at jumping too, so I can't really describe how she dances.... but it's pretty bad) and still isn't that into it; she just wants specific songs over and over again. Which is okay sometimes... and sometimes not so much.

The forecast today is calling for flurries, but I'm itching for spring. I'm working on some clothes for the girls for spring. A dress for Anja that is almost finished, followed by some matching pants for Greta and hopefully a little matching shirt too. I made what was supposed to be a wrap dress for Anja, but it's too frumpy to be a dress so I'm named it her garden frock. She refuses to try it on. Yesterday I made her a pair of pajama pants, which should make middle-of-the-night potty trips a little easier. Up until now we've had to completely undress her since she normally wears zip-up pajamas to bed. I'm going to make some spring nightgowns for both girls, and maybe more pj pants for Anja. And maybe by the time cold weather rolls around again the nightly bathroom trip won't be a necessary thing.

Greta has a little bit of a cold. Nothing huge, just a little snorky and not sleeping well because of it. Meh. I'm ready for spring... have I mentioned that?

The bad thing about being creatively productive is that my house is a wreck. I can't even remember the last time I cleaned my bathroom. Bleh. Oh well. I guess I do have my whole life to do housework, but if I don't get clothes made in a timely manner, they'll be too small to wear!

I keep trying to convince Martin to quit his job so we can be a travelling family folk band. I think I might almost have him! He keeps bringing up something about not having any money, being homeless, starving..... but I think he's getting over it. He's also mentioned something about me not having yet taught him to play an instrument, but whatever. I'm sure once he's on stage it'll all just come to him.

Anyway. That's about it from here today. I've got to make bread at some point... I meant to do it during Greta's nap, but then I forgot. Okay, this post is getting boring.

I know I'm lame...

I changed my background again (in case you couldn't tell.) That little "you're tweet" bird along the side started to annoy me. And in general, I'm not one for hearts. I like this look better, but I'd appreciate any feedback from you as well.