Is It Naptime Yet

I’ve finished Hannah’s pioneer/ frontier dress. I’m not sure what you want to call it.

Here it is lying on my couch before I put the buttons on, this is so you can see the skirt.

Here it is on Hannah with the apron and bonnet.

Here it is on Hannah next to their old time stove.

I forgot the pantaloons, they’re still in my closet, but I’ll see them on Thursday. I just wanted the dress at their house, in their hands, so it was no longer on the back of my couch since I don’t have any tall closet space for my own clothes, let alone this dress.

She seemed really happy with it and I’m happy to have rendered my services to them.

I don’t know how many hours I spent on it. It took me three hours to sew on twelve buttons, there were interruptions, like getting the girls to bed and watching Dancing With the Stars, but it took no less than  one and a half of the three hours. I think I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

My estimate is at least 20 hours of sewing time.  If I had a serger it would have been more around 12  since it still took a while to press in seams and put on buttons.  I like sewing french seams, I just don’t like the  time it takes to sew in french seams.

It’s done.

Now onto table runners for a wedding.

Friday was a good day. I knew it would be since we had planned on going to the Springs Preserve with Sam, Britta, and they brought Izaak along, a young boy from the mommy class we use to do.

Before heading to the Springs Preserve we went to Trader Joe’s and my in-laws house.

At noon we meet Sam and the gang. The kids ate lunch and played. Britta split her lip open, but other than that it was a mostly smooth afternoon.

The kiddos had lots of fun and Sam and I were able to chat  and get adult conversation in. We actually talked about more than kid stuff, like politics, which luckily we agree so it was a pleasant conversation. Fortunately, our conversations are pretty broad and I am able to talk to Sam about a lot of different things.

We did the usual activities and then the girls and I headed out before leaving Sam, Britta, and Izaak there.

We stopped by a local gas station to use our gas cards. They’re only $10 each and you have to do a complete transaction for each one. As in pump gas, return nozzle, wait for a receipt and repeat. I had to figure this out, so it was rather annoying.

Then we headed over to a local store I rarely visit, one, because It’s on the way to places I go, but not really on the way home and two, it’s not a very tidy store. They had the fun sized candy bar bags on sale for $1.50, which are usually $2-$2.50, on sale.  I bought eight bags for Halloween and I guess  to gain a lot of weight with. Usually we have to buy candy for Halloween and the trunk or treat, so eight is about right, but this year, once again, our ward is having the ward party on Halloween, which I’m so against, so I’m not supporting the activity in any way, where as last year I think I still donated candy. I just don’t like ward activities on Halloween night.

We bought lots of candy and the cashier was nice enough to ring it up twice for us, because there was a limit of four bags per transaction. I didn’t know, so I would have stuck to the limit, but it was very nice of here.

Friday night was normal.

Saturday I was busy cleaning and trying to create order in our house of chaos. I then sewed the skirt on finally. I’ve actually finish everything on the dress, except the buttons, because we don’t have enough and we’re waiting for them to be transferred to a closer store.

Saturday night the girls and I gave Jon some study time by going to JoAnn’s and then to Carolyn’s work to help her office decorate for the Halloween party. It was fun, the girls had tons of fun and Lilah now prays for a very scary Halloween.

Sunday was a normal day.

Monday I made the apron.

Today I’m working on the pantaloons, which I didn’t buy enough lace for so they won’t get done till Thursday or Friday, or after I go to JoAnn’s again.

Now I just need to cut out the bonnet and sew it together.

I’m almost done with the costume.

Then next week I’ll begin table runners for my friends wedding, which have to be done by the 15th of November.

I’ve never made table runners, so I’m a little nervous. I’m mostly nervous about cutting the fabric completely straight so the seams turn out straight and so they’re retanglular table runners and not trapezoidal or some other parallelogram.
I think I’m a little crazy.

My apron and robe will probably be Christmas presents to myself.

…An hour and a half away from your life?

Ironing and sewing this hem.

It may have only taken a little over an hour, but it felt like longer since I was watching a debate between Dina Titus and Jon Porter and they had a commercial break like every three minutes.  I’m almost not sure who I like least right now for Congress.

Keep in mind it’s folded in half and is still longer than my 7 or 8 foot couch. (I’m not sure of the exact length.)

They also wanted me to hand sew it. That would have taken me 3 or more hours to hand sew because I’m a slow sewer with a machine and even slower with my hands that tend to cramp when hand sewing.

I am one step closer to being done. Now I just need to gather it and attach it to the dress.

I hope the ant bait works, because I don’t have time to deal with those suckers.

This week Eden had to skip her dance class. Lets just say going in the potty went out the window this weekend, but since she had to miss dance yesterday, she hasn’t had a single accident in the past two days. I’m focusing on staying home, except some special exceptions, and getting her to go to the potty. I think pull-ups at nighttime is the only acceptable thing right now. I know we can do this.

The second thing I’m focusing on is the dress I’m making. I get really absorbed in sewing, as long as it’s going well. I hate having to take out a seam, and I had to do that today. Had I read the directions I would have put the interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric, rather than the right, which was so wrong. I’m to a point where I need to fit the dress before going on because I want to make sure I added enough fabric before I sew in the two side seams.

My mom’s machine has been a dream. It even cuts the threads for you, except when it doesn’t, but I think that’s more because of me than the machine.

I wish I had a sewing room, that way I could just sew and get back to it whenever I wanted and sew til the second I want to stop. Until that day I will continue to sew and then clean up my mess for the meals. I think that’s one reason I try to finish things as soon a possible, to help get the chaos of fabric and sewing machines out of the way. To tell the truth I can’t wait to finish this project so I can make the girl’s costumes and then a robe for myself. I’m really looking forward to my sewing right now.

Lastly, I get to see Zarina tomorrow. Andrea and Brien are coming to town for my eldest brother’s wedding, and they have a dentist appointment, which means Auntie Lacey gets to babysit. Of course they’re staying with Carolyn so I’m a little jealous.

Tuesday turned out to be a very eventful day. I went to see my eye doctor to have my contacts checked out. (I’ve mentioned the problem in a post about not being able to pick up contacts.)

I had dropped the girls off at my mom’s house so she could watch them for me. I then came back to borrow a sewing machine, and I guess pick up my children. My free $100 sewing machine is starting to act up. I would love to get a new one, but that will wait until we save for it. In which I’d rather go to SLC for a friend’s wedding that’s in November, compared to saving for a new sewing machine, though neither is happening soon. I’ll just have to keep borrowing my moms. 😉

I’m mostly borrowing it because I’m making a period dress for Beth’s daughter and I want to have the best possible machine in hopes that it will instantly improve my sewing skills 100% and help me sew perfectly straight seams. Really I just need more seam options than straight or zig–zag. There’s like fourteen button holes, my machine does not do button holes, and they want me to hand sew the skirt that is like 5 yards of fabric long. Ha! Like that’ll happen. So instead I’ll just use the invisible seam setting on my mom’s machine and save lots of time.

My machine also has problems when facing thicker seams and hers does not. Mine has a mind of it’s own because it’s so low tech and I get too lazy to take out the stitches because I know it will just do the exact same thing. I’m hoping hers will actually obey me, but I’m also afraid that it might be smarter than me and take over as I sew.  I can just see the fabric flying through the air as the sewing machine sews everything in sight. I’ll have to keep the girls far, far away.

My dinky sewing machine

My mothers nice sewing machine, probably worth more than Jon’s car. ( It also embroiders.)

Hopefully it doesn’t spoil me too much because we can’t afford her sewing machine.

Wednesday we had Lilah’s class. Lilah knows so much that I sometimes have a hard time reading each day with her and having learning time.
Since Beth’s my mentor, and I can call her that since she called herself my mentor, we had a talk and my goal was to set a time to have “school time”. This is kinda against unschooling, but I’m not going for complete unschooling. The thought is if we have a routine we can guarantee some learning everyday or a time to stimulate learning. I have a box of special school things that I’m taking out at our “school time” and I let the girls do what they want.

Beth also gave me lots of cool things so the girls have loved it. One thing Lilah discovered was there are four ways to add six. Beth gave us a set of domino’s. Lilah was counting the dots and drawing pictures and she brought me some domino’s and asked how they could all have six dots when they where so different. So we had a lesson on adding six and the different ways you could add it. I thought it was fun.

So my school time is after lunch. We’re usually running around and doing things in the morning but home by lunch. So after lunch is our school time. It also goes with my reading a story or two before putting Eden down for her nap but I haven’t read to them in days. We go through cycles. All I do is read, read, read and then we go weeks with just reading once or twice. I should be better about that.

I figure we might be gone some days after lunch, but those are usually days we go to the park for the unschooling group, so that can count as “school time” too.

After lunch we went to the park for the unschooling group, or Life learners which I will now refer to them as. On the discussion board our coordinator, or Tara, was sick and a few others said they would still be there, but when I showed up at the park only one other person was there, and this was her first time. She has a daughter who is 6, so that makes me happy, and her daughter, Sarahphina which I’m guessing how to spell, played really well with Lilah and Eden. The mom was really easy to talk to and we had a good discussion which just got better when one other mom showed up. This mom has a teen aged son, he actually stayed home, and had just returned from living in Hollywood while her son was pursuing an acting career.
We left the park around 4 o’clock, and had a regular night.

Thursday was my busy doctor’s appointment day. Sam was kind enough to watch the girls all morning for me. She had them from 8:40 am till 12:45 pm so I could attend my dermatologist appointment and eye appointment.
I had a mole removed on my arm in July, and it too was precancerous, but does not need suturing. This makes 4 moles precancerous, one normal, for the five I’ve had removed. She removed another mole in my right shoulder, so if she doesn’t call sooner to say it needs suturing we’ll find out in six months if it too is precancerous.

My eyes are the same. They haven’t changed since before I had Eden. It seems amazing to me to keep the same prescription. For so much of my youth my eyes changed drastically each year. I was so relieved to learn that your eyes come to a plateau and stay the same. If we didn’t have so many other things to worry about I would so do laser eye surgery, but atlas we do.

I went to a new doctor and he seemed perplexed that I only wear my contacts part time and my glasses most of the time. I don’t think he understood that glasses are a necessity and contacts are a luxury in my life. He mentioned my children pulling on my glasses, but since they’re older they’re obviously past that stage, plus they learned fairly quickly not to pull on glasses since Jon and I both wore them. My doctor is all about contacts and being to the most “natural state”. I guess glasses don’t bother me, though I like the way I look with contacts.
I am getting new frames this year. My current frames are getting too old and breaking in different places, plus I’m looking forward to getting something a little more up to date.

Friday we stayed home. I sewed a blanket for a baby shower I went to today. I didn’t take any pictures though. (If you could Emilie it would be appreciated and just e-mail me one.)
Today we got a leotard for Eden and Lilah and Jon’s date was to the dollar store to choose gifts for Eden and me. Last week Lilah was obsessed with giving me a gift but she had to wait till her date with Daddy.

I had a baby shower this afternoon and then tonight I took the girls to a carnival that was at Anna’s church. They had a small ferris wheel, which the girls loved, a “train”, and a couple jumper things. One was a regular bouncy thing for kinds to jump in and the other was an obstacle course type thing.
Lilah loved it and Eden had fun watching her, since she was just a little to little for the obstacle course. It was a fun night.

Now it’s time for bed, and if you read all of this you must have nothing else to do.

So this is my long journal post about the day to day of the last couple weeks.

Last week, as in Thursday July 31, 2008 I spent all day sewing. I was making an apron for a friend. I’ll post pictures once I get the pocket on. When Jon asked Lilah what she did all day she said “Mommy sewed for a serious long time.”
I just get into projects and like to finish them.

Friday I went over to help my MIL. They’re trying to get the house fixed up and have found a very nice handyman. She’s also trying to downsize, and they have a lot. I would take more of their books, except we have no where to put any and I’m not going to add another bookcase to my house. It’s already overrun with books. I think we need a bigger house, which ain’t happening anytime soon,  or we need to get rid of books we have.  The neighborhood kids called our house a library for crying out loud, which makes Jon proud I’m sure.
It was a pretty progressive day and I just hope my MIL can continue to let go. They’re very big pack rats and in some ways it’s good, other ways it just gets in the way of living more comfortably.
That night Jon and I saw “The Dark Knight.” I enjoyed it, I love Christian Bale, but it was also a little long for me.

Saturday Jon went on a field trip with the girls to his work. They visited his new office, mostly to see if he left his thumb drive, something he can’t live without, and to visit the Natural History building there.  They have different exhibits and some animals. After that they went to his parents to install the computer for his mom.

I stayed home on Saturday. I was asked on Thursday to give the lesson for Sunday but was so busy that Saturday was the first opportunity I got. I also cleaned the house while the others were gone.

Sunday was church day.

Monday I went back over to my in-laws. I had forgotten my blueberries there and figured I could try to help my MIL more. With all the changes she wasn’t up to making any decisions on getting rid of stuff, so we mostly talked about different things and I encouraged to to get rid of certain stuff.  I went shopping for her and the girls stayed with my in-laws. My MIL told me later that even though we didn’t clean or get anything done she still enjoyed having the girls there and the time she spent talking with them, rocking with them, and listening to them lifted her spirit.

Tuesday the girls had swimming lessons. I’m not sure what else we did that day.

Wednesday I went to Henderson. We visited my sister Carolyn’s work, went to Target, had lunch with Anna, and stopped at the park for the unschooling group. We had cloud coverage while at the park, so it made it a little more bearable and it rained lightly for a short period of time. Then it got hot as the sun came out again and it was time for Eden’s nap, so we left.

Thursday we had a birthday party in the morning. I had a headache that afternoon, which I rarely get so I’m a baby anytime I have a headache that lasts, so I didn’t get much done.
That night I went back to Target and Mervyn’s to check out clearances for Lilah’s cloths next summer. Neither store had very much and I realized that girl clothing is twice as much as toddler. If only she could stay a 5T. I was also looking for clothes for family pictures. I found what I was looking for for the girls, but I it still doesn’t go with the shirt I planned for me, so I may need to find a cute navy blue shirt, cause my regular blue just looks dingy, even though it’s not dingy, just regular, next to the navy blue of their shirts.

I also got an antenna for our TV. It helped bring in the stations that are digital, except NBC. I guess once everything goes digital we won’t get NBC. Since the Olympics officially start tonight we’re using regular analog TV signal, but after that it’s back to digital.

Today I dyed my hair back to it’s regular darkness. I tried to over a month ago, but I was worried and didn’t leave the dye in long enough. Now I have lovely dark hair to contrast my fair skin. Hopefully it works and keeps the highlights dark.

Now I should go clean the many areas of my house that are bothering me including the dishes.

See the following. (I promise it’s not usually this bad, but it gets this bad when I’m lazy.)

The girls closet. Those clothes were at one time in the box that they’re covering, though it has looked like this for a while.

We ordered sleeping bags from Amazon. Jon’s planning on making a solar over with the boxes so I can’t get rid of them.

Our shred pile. That trashcan is full of papers to be shredded.

A corner in the front room. which holds my sewing machine, the apron I’m working, stuff from Jon’s old office, but it’s supposedly toxic form mold that the building held, the pizza box is holding paper his parents gave us, then random papers I don’t know what to do with.

My, it looks organized but really isn’t, hall closet.

Lets see what gets done.

Monday the girls went over to Sam’s house to play with Britta. I was talking to Sam that morning and mentioned that I was going to be sewing all day. She said I should just bring the girls over for a couple of hours so I could sew and Britta could be occupied and have fun. I took her up on the offer and dropped them off that morning.

I got the pattern and fabric to make these dresses back in May, possibly April. With not being able to lift anything I couldn’t work on them in May.(I sew at my kitchen table so I’d have to pick up and put away the sewing machine.) Plus my shoulder seemed to be bothered easily so I didn’t sew.

Life has been busy so I still didn’t sew once I got the OK two weeks ago.

Sunday the home teachers were suppose to come over so I cleaned my house and tidied up, something that I would have normally left till Monday. The one who made the appointment must have forgotten because they never came.

So Monday morning my house looked pretty descent and I didn’t have much to do so I sewed. I sewed all day long with the normal breaks and was able to finish Eden’s dress that evening. (I did French seams and basically I sew the dress twice so the fabric is enclosed and doesn’t fray.)

Tuesday we went and saw Enchanted at a local theater that does free movies for kids on certain days. It was so cute and is on my to buy list. I also ran by the DI and found a VCR for $5. Ours had broken and though most of our movies are DVD’s we do have some videos that I have wanted to watch but haven’t been able to, plus when we check out from the library kids video’s always work, where as only 1 in 4 kids DVD’s work.

I also did some shopping at Target and Smith’s.

Wednesday was another sewing day. I was also potty training Eden in the very active way. (Setting the timer and putting her on the toilet every 45 minutes.) She went poop in the pull-up right after her nap, before I could get her to the toilet. She just doesn’t seem to be getting it.

Wednesday was a hard day at times. Lilah hates time out and will not stand in time out, thus not beginning her time out, for like 5 minutes and only when I force her to stand there does she. I don’t know what to do with her at times.

I finished Lilah’s dress late in the morning today since I was also watching a movie from Netflix. They had their first swimming lessons today, thus why I needed them done by today, at least in my mind. I’m using them as cover ups for their swimsuits. This way I can change them into dry clothes and underwear after we’re in the pool. Plus they’re cute and I needed to get them done since the summer is half over already.

They did well for their first swimming lessons. Eden only worked with the young woman for 15 minutes because she just wasn’t wanting to follow directions. Neither of them put their head completely under water and it was a bit of a bust at times, but they enjoyed just playing after the lesson was officially over.

We’re taking them from a former lifegaurd/ swim teacher that was referred to me by a friend. It’s $50 for four 1 hour sessions. (At one point she had said $25, but that was just for one child at 4 half hour lessons, we had gotten confused on the phone.)

It’s more expensive than the community pool, but those are  larger classes, we’d have to pay for the lesson plus admission for the pool for each class and both of us would need to be there so one of us could take care of one girl. It is comparable to the community pool after the extra expenses. Plus they each get one on one time with the teacher and it’s at the time we want it, not the community pool time.

I think Lilah really enjoyed it, but Eden may not be quite ready. Hopefully she’ll get more comfortable with getting water on her face, as will Lialh, I hope. I think I’m going to buy some goggles for them to help encourage going under water.

And here they are in my creations.