Solidarity!

I had a happy little post planned for today about a darling scarf that I made for my mom. But then Walker had to go and prove how underhanded and truly awful he is, and I needed to make a statement.

I'd like to teach my almost 5-year-old some choice words about Governor Walker, but that would be inappropriate. So, instead, we're protesting Walker and his anti-union ways with a little statement made with fabric paint and homemade stencils. I learned all of the necessary skills to complete this project in elementary school. Thanks teachers of Wisconsin!

Ability to spell

Color choice

 Coloring within the lines

Helping one another



The paints bled a little bit, but I don't care. I'm still putting it on Thing 1. He can show his solidarity to his teacher; I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

Seersucker: Not Just for Babies and Homosexuals

The other day I was discussing an adorable pair of seersucker pants from the store Crazy8 with my mother. The conversation went something like this:
"Ooooh. Those seersucker pants are cute. I think I'll make some for the boys," I said.
Mom responded, "Really? Seersucker? That seems...gay."
Me, "Gay, like as in you think they're lame? Or gay, like as in you think the boys will look like homosexuals?"
"Gay, like in homosexual," Mom said.

Fast forward to a conversation with my bestie at JoAnn's:
"Oh, and I need to get some seersucker to make some pants for the boys," I told her.
"Seersucker? That's a baby fabric. You can make something for the baby, but not the boys."

Another conversation, this one with my manfriend:
"My mom thinks the boys will look gay in seersucker."
His answer, "Pretty much everything homemade for boys looks gay."

Well, all you naysayers, behold my badass seersucker pants. I've only made a pair for Thing 1 so far, but if someone's got the potential to look like a gay baby in pants, it's him.

He didn't want to model his new pants; he just wanted to play Tony Hawk.

Stand up or you'll never play Tony Hawk again.

Show me your butt.

He thought that was pretty hilarious that I said, "butt."

Things fell apart pretty quickly after that.

OMG, my stairs are awe inspiring.

I just wrote the longest post in my entire blog history and blogger ate it. That's just par for the course in today's project world.

So...the stairs in my house were awful. They were made so by the Previous Home Owners (hereby referred to as the PHO). The PHOs did lots of things that were horrendous such as decorating the backyard with bowling balls, decorating the dining room and kitchen with six different types of wallpaper, PAINTING and then GLUING carpeting to the stairs.

Our project began many, many moons ago..

Yuck.

And pretty much sat that way for ages. But, Thing 3 was born and threatened to crawl, so we had to make a move. Plus the Grandmas were getting nervous with all that up and down the stairs and no hand rail. And, to be fair, Thing 2 did go tip over tail over the side of the stairs. He survived.

Hard at work

The stair remodel was horrible. The actual treads were easy peasy. Sand, stain, revarnish. We did have to live through a scary period where the treads weren't nailed down and some of them were missing entirely. The risers were a little more difficult. But the spindles, handrails, and newel post...holy smokes! That was something else. There was so much sanding...I'm pretty sure my kids huffed lead based paint at some point, but I'm counting on my extremely high IQ to counterbalance the damage.

So, we're not 100% there; the walls still need to be repainted (especially after Thing 2's bloody nose, creepy finger trailing up the wall incident), but we're good to go re: Thing 3 crawling.

Somebody should contact Bob Villa.

Money poor...

...but talent rich?

I wasn't sure where to go with this post, but my husband and I have been doing a lot of home updates that are somewhat aesthetic, somewhat costly, and mostly necessary (depending on who you ask). A recent update included sanding and resurfacing the dining room table. We are mostly able to save on the costly part because We are so handy. See how the "We" is capitalized? My husband may or may not have been a carpenter for the last 13 years or so, but I am a really good supervisor!

The table is a hand-me-down of a hand-me-down. I'm pretty sure my parents received it in lieu of a payment many, many moons ago. Back when flint stones were needed to light fires. Anyhoo, any finish that the top table surface might have at one point had was worn to the bone and after every meal (or "washable" marker mishap) I was forced to scrub, scrub, scrub the table. Well, begone table elbow! Welcome my New To Me Table.

Et voila!

Zen and the Art of Sewing Machine Maintenance

Everything I did today took me 39 hours, which is weird because I'm pretty sure there aren't that many hours in my day.

Getting the kids to eat lunch = 39 hours. Cleaning the floor = 39 hours. Uploading a million pictures since I haven't uploaded any since Thing 2 turned 1 = 39 hours (this was probably the most problematic portion of the day, but it felt like everything).

Plus, my sewing machine crapped out on me, the boys destroyed their room and are currently sleeping on the floor, and Thing 3 has a snotty nose and is trying to cut an estimated 4 teeth. But, joy will fill sorrow's cup and Thing 3 has learned the ugly crawl! Joy and elation.

I'm not one to complain (well, not very loudly. or maybe not for a long time. or at least only until someone comes and helps me), so I pulled out the ol' handy sewing machine tools and took care of one problem on my own.

Notice both the glass of wine and the bottle of children's ibuprofen in the background.

Why? What did you do while YOU watched the Superbowl?

I probably should have been giving either this project or the Superbowl my undivided attention, but in the end, they both turned out great!

I've been majorly hating on my couch and couch pillows for several years now. Almost since I got them! But I've never done anything about it. Pretty lame on my part. But no more! Welcome to my newest sofa pillows.

Je t'adore.

By the time you read these lines...

It's not like I was trying to break up with you, blog. It's just that I was busy.
There were the holidays to be considered. And I'm a busy mom of three. That takes a toll on a person's sanity and ability to craft. So stop calling so softly to me while I'm trying to sleep or while I'm relaxing watching reruns of the Real Housewives. I promise I'll try to spend more time with you.
Sincerely,
Me