more fun with dick and jane

My great-grandfather was a elementary school principal. My father happened to go to the school that he resided over. The same school, incidentally, that I went to some thirty years later. The school itself was built around the turn of the century. It had ornate brass hardware and black and pink penny tiles in the girls bathroom. They tore down my school last year to make way for a new fandangled building which will have automated sinks instead of the charming little asterisk knobs for cold and hot water. I am bothered by the fact that the town I grew up in has so little respect for historic buildings.

And I can guarantee they aren't using Dick and Jane readers anymore. They probably threw those out like so much trash. Little did they know their worth. A vintage Dick and Jane reader sells for hundreds of dollars now. The same readers that I learned to read with. The same readers that I wrote little hearts on and doodled my name.

Most people that learned to read with Dick and Jane are my parents age. But my little town didn't more out of the fifties until the early nineties. And so I have a soft spot in my heart for Dick and Jane and Sally and Spot and what was the cat's name? Fluffy? No Puff.

I started a little project yesterday and I'm almost finished.

I pieced the top and I'm crocheting around the edge. My scallop edge isn't as "scallopy" as I'd like but it'll do.

It's not as girly as the other things I've been making for our baby, but it will match our new stroller that Ben ordered. It came this morning and I was able to assemble it even with my melon brain.

I was so proud of myself I took myself out for sushi.

design sunday- happy mother's day!

Ameena Slings

This Mother's Day I am featuring an adoptive/bio mom who is selling hand sewn baby products to help pay for another adoption of a little girl from Ethiopia. I have heard that slings are the one of the most comfortable ways to carry a child. I want to try one out when we get Mei Mei.

Small Wish

compromise

I honestly try to be a fun mom. I take Thom to Disneyland and Lego Land. I buy play dough and finger paints. I even bought him some Incredibles pajamas and I really hate characters on clothing. It's not easy when our style sense clashes on a daily basis.

But I had to draw the line when he wanted "John Deer" fabric. I just couldn't bring myself to, not only buy it at $8 a yard, but then spend time sewing it into a blanket. So we compromised.

Thank heaven for "surfer" style.

I used "minky" fabric on the back. It is soooo incredibly soft, but let me tell ya, it's a b. to sew with. The fish, name and surfboard are all embroidered. I wonder how long it will take him to spill grape juice on it.

i may have a.d.d.

As if I didn't have enough hobbies and projects to consume all of my time, I decided to try my hand at quilting. Last Friday Sugar Daddy went on a rock climbing over-night trip and so I decided to hunker down for a night in. I put a Disney movie on for the boy, ordered in a pizza, dawned a pair of old sweats, pulled my hair back into a messy bun and went to work on my first quilt. Okay, I must admit here that it was a kit quilt that I got on sale at the fabric store. The instructions were probably written for someone in fifth grade. But, hey, it was on my level. I think it turned out pretty good. I can't wait to wrap it around Mei Mei.



Unfortunately, I seem to have caught the quilt bug. I made another trip to the fabric store (a very stressful trip with a four-year-old boy playing rocket with the thread and begging me to buy a flannel with a John Deer print). I am combining a little embroidery into this one. I am thinking of giving it to my niece for her birthday.

I guess after this I will be making an incredibly ugly John Deer quilt for Thomas. Don't expect a post on that one.