Troublemaker

Lance (known for dissecting electronics) came to visit with Grandma, and I think he's had a very bad influence on Cozette.



Just kidding....this happened before he even came over. It's the touble-maker gene...and Cozy has it in spades.

Slightly Modified

I adore clearance. Since long-sleeved season is (thankfully) over, this $1.50 shirt (already in Sof's favorite color) only needed slight modification.


I chopped off the long sleeves, leaving some ties and making a "keyhole".


I think they look pretty cute. No sewing required.


Sofia would only let me cut off the sleeves if I promised to let her have the remnants for stuffie clothing.

I did...because she's a pretty brilliant seamstress for a 10-year-old...and very creative for an any-age-year-old.



Don't ya think?

My Saturn Day

Wasn't yesterday lovely? It was just relaxing and beautiful. Tony was lucky. He had checked off my honey-do list on Friday. Plum tree planted. Yard edged (way better than I do it, but with less clean-up at the end. Maybe he's counting on rain?)

So we went to foodie Saturday at Cosmos, where I got some {rice} gelato. Yummier than rice pudding.


I bought some glass dessert plates for all of the pies I've been making.


This was the pear and dried fruit pie. I think I could have done without the dried fruit, but liked the ginger-pear. What is a good, non-alcoholic substitute for rum? ...in pie. I made the pumpkin pies for the kids. ...and that was the end of the shortening.



While restocking our shortening at Costco, I bought some frivolous sedums...and followed some signs to a garage sale (that's how nice it was outside!) where I found something I had been looking for...


...a kitschy deer! Yes, I know. That's a weird thing to have on your shopping list, but I was honestly considering buying one on ebay.


I promptly painted it pink. The details will be added later.

Our Loving Homes

We are NOT good about having family home evening...mainly because it makes us want to harm the children. I don't know why, but the very term "family night" seems to trigger rowdiness - extreme rowdiness. Maybe it's in anticipation of the o-so-fun game (normally "sardines") at the end? Whatever the reason, the result is chaos.

Lately I've been trying to spread out fhe assignments to various children, in hopes that they'll be preoccuppied with their responsibilities...too preoccupied to jump from the chair to the ottoman and from the ottoman to the couch. I gave Sofia the lesson (How to build a loving home), Annika the music, and I assigned Anthony to sit on Jonathan and James (so that they could stay in one place for 10-15 minutes). It went pretty well and freed up my time, so that I could throw stuff together for an activity/treat at the end.

We made...and ate our own loving homes. They were cup-cakey good, if I do say so myself!


Sofia's house.


My house. I thought the roof in particular was adorlicious.


Annika's house. Such modern lines! I had pictured her as more of a cottagey type.


Anthony's. My favorite.


Jonathan's house was voted "most likely to impail the foot of a careless giant."

James went straight to eating cupcakes, candy, and cookies. He thought the "loving home" construction was a big waste of time. How efficient of him, nicht?

Multipurpose

They're nothing if not innovative.

St. Patti's Day

Oh, St.Patrick's Day is over. It was really a breeze compared with last year (when I had to take the boys with us to all 4 shows...and I was 8 months pregnant). This year my Mom came over to help AND Tony got off of work early. So much easier.

The only part that wasn't easier involved new costumes. I think in an effort to make them less expensive {appreciated}, the costumes came cut out - all ready to sew together {not appreciated}. I'm sure that a couple of years from now (if they're still dancing), we'll be buying a solo costume for the price of a small car and wishing I could sew it myself.

I know what you're thinking. Annalia, you love sewing. I love joyful, fun, pretty sewing. I don't love mandatory, purple, soul-sucking sewing. It's different somehow. Regardless, it's over, and I'm piecing a couple of quilts to cleanse my pallet.


The girls bedecked in new costumes.

Everyone dancing the Circle Reel.



Sofia in Host of Figures.

Dedicated Space

What was the funnest thing we did at Sarah's this past weekend? ...cleaning her sewing room, of course. We dismantled the barricade, and now it's ready for crafting of whatever variety she should choose.


My vote is for the braided rug. I can't wait to see the finished product (as I've been wanting to make one of these myself).

Can you find the essential crafting ingredient in the picture below?


Oh ya - we're sewin'!