Stellar Parenting

I had one of those stellar parenting moments yesterday. We were having an awful Monday, but at some point I managed to spend a few minutes alone in the front yard, cutting lilac blooms, while Cash used his stamps at the kitchen table. A moment of peace.

It was short-lived because our trashy neighbors (you know the ones) decided to spend that 5 minutes yelling at their 3 year-old across the street. They sat on the front steps (as they do most of every day) watching their son cry a few houses down because his new training-wheeled bike was stuck in the mud and he needed help.

They kept yelling, "You can do it! Figure it out!"

But not in that nice, encouraging way. More in that, "I don't want to get off my butt to help you, so you're on your own, kid" sort of way.

For a moment I tried to be understanding. Maybe their day was going as poorly as mine was. Toddlers can drive you insane. But pretty quickly my sympathy turned to, "get off your butt and help your kid!"

And then I came inside and brought my high horse with me. And there was Cash. Stamping. And he immediately whined and asked me to help him get one of my stamps out of the box. He couldn't do it. He was stuck.

And I said, "Just use the other stamps." Because I was too busy with my lilacs to help him.

He asked me a few more times in that screechy, whiny voice. And as I walked upstairs to put my sweet-smelling lilac blooms in the bathroom I snapped something like, "You can do it! Figure it out!"

I immediately saw the irony and burst out laughing.


P.S. And I sewed that sheet for Story's crib.

Craftypants

Gnomey hat front.

Gnomey hat side.

Stegosaurus freezer paper stencil.

There has been some kid-related crafting happening around here recently:

I've wanted to make helloyarn's gnomey hat pattern for ages now, but I was waiting for the perfect yarn. I completely forgot I had this Karabella Chameleon in my stash--an insanely soft merino, silk, cashmere blend. I knit this on size 6 needles, so I had to change the pattern up a bit. How could you not want to knit this hat? It has ear flaps! And poms! And a little i-cord on top! I'm selfishly saving this one back for baby Ella/pie/hooha/seester (these are just a few of the names Cash has called the baby).

And Cash and I had another little magic moment last week when we cranked out this stegosaurus freezer paper stenciled shirt. Cash has caught the dinosaur bug. I realize that in no time we'll be able to distinguish a stegosaurus from pterodactyl. But, right now, this is all new to us, and last night the plastic brachiosaurus got called both a stegosaurus and a brontosaurus. So sue me. It's been awhile since I studied about "ancient creatures that I'm not convinced ever really existed."

Anyhow, we needed something to do, so I thought:

New dinosaur obsession

+ Thrifted muscle tee
---------------------------------

= Something to do

Cash got to help pick out a dinosaur pattern and do a bit of painting. When I unveiled the dried design later that night he jumped up and down clapping.

Oh, sweet gratitude.

"Mom, you make these?"

Last week Wes was out of town, so, whilst thrifting with a very cooperative Cash, I decided to treat him to a root beer float at the drive in diner. Cash was very excited (of course, he'd hardly share the float), and as we sat there in the warm, summer air the radio began to play "This Magic Moment."

Ahhh. . . those sweet glimpses of what good, happy days spent with your kids ought to look like (instead of the usual bribing and arguing that goes on in most conversations with a 2 1/2 year-old). "Cash, listen, if you get in the car seat on your own I won't kill you. That's the deal."*

Cash and I had another magic moment as we sewed his first batch of summer pajama shorts a few weeks ago. He couldn't do much to help, but he did make sure the t-shirts we cut these from were fully spread out on the floor. He held the scissors for me, threw things away And, when he was especially cooperative, he got to push the reverse button on the sewing machine. Oh, the excitement of being a toddler.

At first I thought it was an insane idea to try to sew these with Cash's help, but I'm glad I offered because he was so proud of the finished products. And still, every night, he points to his shorts before bed and asks (in his high pitched question-voice), "Mom, you make these?"

"Yes, Cash, we made those."



*Oh, hang up the phone before you dial Child Protective Services. I'm just joking.

Show & Tell Club: Dinosaurs eat other dinosaurs

Photos borrowed from Laura.

Last Saturday we all agreed to cancel our motel rooms with the heart-shaped Jacuzzis and, instead, spend our evening together for the third installment of the Show & Tell Club.

A few highlights:

*Vince brought some valentines from his students that made us all want to be teachers for a second.

*Rachel showed us some great flea market finds from her year abroad in Germany.

*Suzanne brought an old newspaper she'd bought at auction from the day Kennedy died.

*David brought some red tools from his garage, and we all had to guess what they're intended for (a'la This Old House, I believe).

*Little Mr. B read a hand-written poem about dinosaurs whose first line was, "Dinosaurs eat other dinosaurs."

*Scott brought these little children's-type drawing of him and Catherine. Maybe I can convince him to blog them so you all can see.

*Catherine had some great relics from the start of she and Scott's relationship. Oh, boy. That journal.

*David and Marie brought the floor puzzle they'd created for their wedding guests to put together. Of course, we had to put it together too.

*I ended up bringing some embroidery I've been trying my hand at, along with official membership cards for everyone. Heck, yeah!

In other news, I just bought myself this crazy shirt today, made this delicious sandwich for lunch, and finished reading this great young adult novel (which I definitely recommend).

Greatest Halloween Story Ever

I have felt so zapped of energy, I can't even bring myself to post--no, I'm not pregnant. . . nothing like that. Who knows what it is. The blahs, that's what.

I made these felt pumpkin people for the Halloween edition of Show & Tell Society--which I missed due to our last minute California vacation. Dangit! The pattern is from Jennifer Murphy and was featured on Martha Stewart last year.

More from Halloween on my flickr.

And now for the greatest Halloween story. My friend Shaun passed out candy with another friend of his, Brian. A big teenager walks onto the porch wearing a red and black striped shirt. Shaun says, "Awww, Fat Albert! Right on! " He hands over a piece of candy. The kid says nothing. When he leaves Brian says, "Dude that kid was Freddy Krueger. Didn't you see the glove?"

Ouch.

Show & Tell Club

Basically, it started with books. For almost a year, six of us, give or take a few, have had this little book club. We started off reading something once per month, then once per 7 or 8 weeks, then every-other month. The writing's on the wall, you see where this is going.

Eventually we decided that on the "off" months, we'd get together to talk about whatever we'd been reading on our own. Then we came up with this idea. In my memory, it's so clear that I was the one who came up with this, but--thank you, technology--in rereading our emails I realize it was actually Eric and Scott.

Eric: I have an idea which kinda defies the laws of book clubnicity. . . (insert idea here). . . Kind of like show and tell. (He first uttered the phrase).

Scott: Thinking about it, it could be totally open, you (could) just bring something cool. Something you made or saw somewhere or a strange thing you found on the ground or a song you can sing. And there would be food. Could be fun. I could see Readymade magazine doing an article about how "Show and Tell" clubs are the new thing. (He ran with it).

So, there you have it. They stole my idea first. And so began the Show & Tell Club. We had our inaugural meeting over brunch on September 7 at our place. I made the invitations above and hand-colored them with fancy colored pencils. There was a blurb inside that read:

The Show & Tell club is a small group of hoodlums who seem to enjoy telling each other stories and wowing one another with dance moves, book suggestions, weight lifting, and clean jokes. Please humor them by bringing along something to share. Perhaps you could sing a song, read a poem, bring something you handcrafted, or share your most prized possession (even if that item is only a pencil sharpener).

Words cannot describe the beauty of Show & Tell Club.

Here was the rundown:

Vince brought his high heels from the Walk in Her Shoes fundraiser. John had his 80's paint-splattered sunglasses (totally ridiculous creation). Marie brought handmade flipbooks. David had some insane photos he'd taken with a new 3-D lens. Eric brought old photos and trinkets he'd come across. Clare brought two sweet handmade creatures. Scott read one of his poems, as did David. Suzanne had some of her first screenprinting designs. Catherine brought these little handmade books from her childhood. I read my journal from 1994. Wes had made his own memory tiles (more on those later). Laura brought a piece of her pottery. Tony released his famous blueberry muffin recipe from the secret family vault. And Tracy showed some of his artwork from his summer internship.
Whew! A lot, huh? You can thank me later, Readymade magazine. A royalty check would be fine.

Check flickr for all the photos. Just you wait, Show & Tell Club #2: Halloween Edition will be at John and Lindsay's. It's bound to be good.

Self-Explanatory Freezer Paper Stencil

Cash now has a new nickname after knocking down our friends' son's block tower, to which Ethan yelled "Hey, we've got a human tornado in here!" The letters are iron-on, and the tornado image is a freezer paper stencil. Pretty cute.

you're getting warmer

Cash's nursery is almost finished, now that I got the Johnny Cash print framed and actually had a weekend off to work on it. I got this print in Nashville last winter at the famous Hatch Show Print. I had JoAnn Fabrics frame it because of their 50% off deal going on, but I wouldn't use them again. The frame hugs the lettering on the left-hand side, even though the framer assured me it wouldn't. Problem is, I waited so long for this to come in, I hate to take it back to have them fix it (isn't that twisted?). A few photos:

crane and twig mobile, inspired by this photo.

notice baby in basket.

the prints. the smaller one is this print.

above the changing table: vintage paint-by-numbers and a few collections
i'm rather fond of the red diaper pail.

and the "in progress" corner. the lincoln rocker was my grandparents and is very dear to me. unfortunately, the color and style are not dear to me, so i'm still unsure of how to handle this.