one project down...

Many, many more to go. The big kid has been asking about sewing for a few weeks now. I kept putting it off, waiting until we had the time to fill on weekends, while the wee one napped. This was a simple way, to teach her to stitch, where the imperfections added some character.

Basic heart shapes cut out of cheap craft store felt. These would be super special out of nice wool felt, but I have a lot of felt from my days of making hair clips.



Tiny uneven stitches...

This shot is blown but I don't have time to retake. The wee one is up from her nap and I'm being bellowed at by the big kid.

falling asleep in church?

Take a 20 month old and let the fun, begin! We went to mass* with the big kid's school today after a 4 month hiatus. The wee one would fuss and squirm to an extent I wasn't willing to endure. With the Baron's recent departure to the European continent, I told the big kid we'd give it another go. She's missing him and needs all the extra support I can muster.

The difficulties begin with a drop-off time that is 20 or so minutes prior to mass. I need to keep the wee one content that much longer. No small task, I assure you. As soon as we enter the absolute soundless church, my anxiety begins. This silence won't last long. As if on cue, the lights are raised. The wee one takes to announcing the brightening of each of the 20 or so hanging light fixtures. "Liiight! Light! Liiiggghhht..."

Then, the silence is broken again by the charming guitarist. Apparently, the wee one isn't a fan of soft strumming as she announces, "Noisy!" a dozen or so times. Through all of this, I'm smiling and nodding at the turning heads. Once her sister enters the sanctuary, with her class, everyone is introduced, fifty times over, to "Big Kid!" The big kid sheepishly lumbers over to sit with us.

The entire congregation is then treated to the wee one's rendition of "O, Holy Night" (which she is still singing, as I type this.) She babbles through most of the service. Something sparks a series of "Eeewww!"s and "Nuh-Uuuhhh!"s that can not be quieted. At one point, the big kid NEEDS to go to the bathroom. I am almost certain the priest waited until we were back in our seats, on the other side of the room, before continuing.

Because she is talking, loudly, through the Holy Gospel, I try to reason with the wee one by explaining everyone else is being quiet and blah, blah, blah. She screams, "NO, Mama!" in my face and then goes about chattering some more.

As a grand finale, the entire bag of cereal I brought to keep her busy, is dumped, on purpose, all over the floor. It kept someone busy, but it wasn't the wee one.

*I am not Catholic which is why we sit in the back. I try to avoid sticking out because I don't know all the "stuff" Catholics do during their mass. So much for being inconspicuous.

bitter sweet

We decided to play the Baron's last night state-side as normal as possible. That meant a trip to our fav-o-rite pizza buffet for a school fund-raiser. This place was our first stop when we arrived back on the coast, over a year ago. The wee one was a tiny four month old blob.

We normally carry the wee one in and out because nobody likes a baby underfoot with a plateful of precious pizza cargo. Last night, the restaurant wasn't very busy so I let her walk through the dining room on her own, over to the Baron and the big kid. Our favorite server came over and commented on how cute the wee one looked toddling around the tables and chairs.

She went on to reminisce about the wee one being carried in, strapped to her bucket seat. There were the memories of the first time she ate baby food from a jar, her first saltine cracker, her first plain pasta from the buffet, and her first piece of pizza.

This lovely person can recall more about our baby than most of our friends and relatives can. It was sweet. It was also sad. Either way, it was a funny little trip down memory lane.

I told her she had a lot to look forward to; we are stuck here for almost three more years.