Halloween 2013

Did it! Survived another Halloween! At the end of the night, I sighed with relief that the day went so well. Two awesome school parties, three adorable hand made costumes, trick or treating, a big pot of chili, fun with friends and neighbors, and tons of candy. And, my husband seemed to enjoy his birthday even though it was, as usual, a side-event after trick or treat.

It was a good one. 

My kids go to an awesome Montessori school. They have a lot of kids from various walks of life and like most schools, they do not celebrate Halloween at school.  I am glad about that. I like that the school respects those who do not do Halloween, and I like that my kids are learning to respect others in this way. But, they do something else that fits in with Halloween and the kids who do celebrate don't miss out on festivities with the alternative. This school is pretty cool!

Happy Non-offensive Fall!

The kindergarten kids study animals. Each student chooses an animal and does their own research and learning at home about that animal. On the last day of October, they dress up as the animal they chose to learn about and present what they learned. All of the kids wear their project costumes and the parents bring in treats for the autumn project party. At the party, the kids are encouraged to mingle and ask  each other about their animal.  Even the party is educational!

Libby chose to study a peacock.  We read about peacocks, looked at pictures, looked online, and we went to a dairy farm where they have a couple of peacocks in a pen. Libby asked the farm hand what peacocks eat and he told her they feed  them "mash" which is smashed corn. I made her a peacock costume and she made a poster for her presentation.

The lower elementary classes (grades 1,2 3) had a project called "Time Machine".  Each student chose a culture and time from the past and studied it. They could choose anything they wanted. At the end of the month, each student dresses as a person from their chosen time and presents what they learned about the history of the culture.

Gracie chose Ancient Egypt.  She watched a Brainpop video, read about it, and we went to the Museum of Man and explored the exhibit with the help of a docent. She learned a lot about ancient Egypt and the culture of the Egyptians.  She designed her costume and I made it the way she instructed.  As it turns out, Ancient Egypt was a popular place to go in the time machine! Several of her little classmates also studied the same topic. They had fun talking about what they learned and comparing.  At their "party" the kids all gather together and the parents go around asking students about their chosen historical period. Then the kids mingle and are encouraged to ask each other about their character's life. It's really a cool project and the kids learn a lot from each other.

Charlie is only three years old, but he is a wise little boy. I repeatedly asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween hoping to hear pirate or superman or Winnie the pooh, or something easy and popular with the tots. He was consistant with his request: He wanted to be Sandy, our dog who passed away in July.  He couldn't just be any puppy dog, he had to be Sandy. Luckily, I found some soft minky fabric in the right color for the costume. It had little swirls so it might look like a sheep, but it was soft and the right color and that was the best I could find, so I got it.  He loved it! He kept hugging the fabric and thanking me before I even had the costume cut out!

Charlie has this whole "Gramma can make anything" thing figured out! He told me just how to make it with ears like this and a tail like this and paws, wait, no paws, yes, paws. He couldn't decided about the paws, so I attached paw mitts that had a hole for his hands to escape if he wanted them out. Happy Puppy! Guess it was a good thing I didn't talk him into another costume.

His Sandy costume turned out pretty good. A bit sheepish, but mostly dog. He woofed and panted and gave puppy kisses. Had the day been a bit cooler, he might have worn his puppy costume all day long. He wore it to the school parties and then donned it again for trick or treating.

Just like every year, our first trick or treat stop is next door. The neighbors spoil my kids! This  year they gave the kids a candy necklace making kit. They're gonna love that! Keith took the first trick or treat shift and walked the kids up the street and back and they filled their bags. They took a break at home and shoved as much candy into their mouths as they could, then I took them out for round 2. I took them in the other direction. Once again, they filled their candy bags. Libby was exhausted by the time we got back home.  They each ate a couple of handfuls of candy, and it was off to bed.

The kids  had a blast!  Keith enjoyed his pot of chili and cornbread. The neighbors brought him a growler of beer from a local brewery. He also got a card in the mail, and the only thing he had to say about that was "it's not from your mom? that's weird. She must be slacking!"  We never did get around to eating his birthday pumpkin pie, but it was a school night and everyone was stuffed and tired so we'll do it later. 

25 Years of Wedded Bliss

25 years ago, I put on a fancy white dress and my boyfriend put on a fancy white tux. By the end of the day, we were married and went off to live happily ever after.

That, we have done. And we have done it well!  In the past 25 years, we had four daughters and three grandsons. We moved several times and helped each other finish college. We went through a few jobs too.  We've seen each other through illnesses and injuries and through triumphs and successes.

One thing we've always done is remain a team. Whatever comes up, we are in it together and we support each other. Sure, we have disagreements, but not about anything big. We argue over what to pack for camping, not what to plan for our future. We work on the big picture together. I guess that's why we are still married. We made a promise to be a team and get through life together and we both meant it when we said we would. And we do.

Honestly, I think I just got lucky. I know a lot of people who didn't. My husband is an awesome guy! He's fun, responsible, hilarious, dependable and respected. And he's crazy enough to put up with me all of the time. Nobody can predict the future, but we have always stuck together and one day melted into the next and here we are: celebrating our 25th anniversary.

Seems weird to say it's been 25 years. Every time we go to a wedding, I think of our wedding day. It is fresh in my mind just as if it weren't so long ago. Saying it was a quarter of a century ago really sounds odd.

To celebrate, we both said "Happy Anniversary" on facebook and we each posted an old picture. That's it. We barely even saw each other! Our anniversary landed on a Tuesday. Eh, it was just another day of the week. Tuesdays aren't for celebrations. They are a work day. It was also the day after our daughter's 5th birthday, so it was easy to overlook.

We'll have a party for our 50th anniversary. Friday, October 1st, 2038. You're all invited. Bring presents!

Princess Mulan's Matchmaker Hanfu

Made It!!!

The girls have been wishing for Princess Mulan dresses for quite some time. I finally found time to get to the fabric store and while I was there, I actually remembered to grab up some pretty blue fabric for the waist band. Really, that's what the big wait was all about. I've had the pink satin and the red trim for quite some time.

I only made one dress because my older girl is growing out of the dress up stage and she would rather wear something normal but themed. I haven't figured out what to do for her yet, but I did buy some Star Wars fabric for when I figure something out. In the meantime, only one hanfu is in order. Which works because Libby's 5th birthday was quickly approaching so the dress could be a gift. 

It only took me a couple of days to make the dress, which would equate to a couple of hours in normal person time. It's been proven many times that I am not functioning in any level of normal, sewing or otherwise. But it should be noted that it was a quick project.

I used a normal looking dress pattern, mainly for the measurements of the shoulders and sleeves and bodice width. The hanfu does not at all resemble the pattern I used, but I am growing out of a need for much of a pattern; I just need the major cutting points and then I can wing the rest of it.

I made the hanfu just like a dress in that it has a top bodice section and a bottom skirt with a zipper up the back. I'm not so sure that is the proper way but I wanted it to have some flair at the bottom and I wasn't so sure a shift or A line cut would have the same effect. Besides, the gathered waistline would be covered by the waist band so it didn't really matter. I also made the skirt ankle length (or so I thought until my kid put it on and I discovered her legs are a lot longer than they used to be!)

I cut the sleeves the right length and then added "bat wings" to the wrist. I also made the tip of the wings longer than the top of the wrist so that it resembled Mulan's long sleeve tips without going overboard. Just a bit of effect for authenticity but not enough that it would be annoying to wear.

The bodice top gave me some pause. I had to think about how to make it overlap like a robe. I ended up cutting four bodice pieces and then folding them and ironing them down the way I wanted them, trimming off the unwanted half at the diagonal and stitching the two pieces of bodice together at the waist. It has a lining of the same satin, which is why I needed four pieces. Two outer and two for lining. There is probably a hundred easier and more conservative ways to cut the bodice out, but to keep it straight in my mind, that's how I did it. I will have to practice or draw up a little pattern piece.

I used some of the leftover cheap red stuff that I used for the Captain Hook Halloween costume last year to trim the bodice and make the red waist belt. The embroidered blue piece was easy to make into a waistband. I measure the child around the middle and made a rectangle to match. I sewed the red band to the middle of the blue rectangle and added apron ties.

Now I had the pink satin underdress with the red trim on the bodice and the separate blue and red waist band. Done!

There were just a couple of problems. I forgot the red upper skirt and the waist band slid straight down that satin covered kid. It wouldn't stay up.

I added a piece of gathered red to the bottom of the blue waist band and that fixed that issue. Then I tacked the waist band to the dress in the back, front and under the arms to keep it from sliding down. We don't need to spend all day yanking the waist piece up over and over again. Now, it's done!

Princess Mulan's pink hanfu was an awesome birthday gift for my little birthday girl! We hauled it around all day at Disneyland on her big day, but it was too hot to wear satin. Also, Mulan wasn't "home" when we went to the Princess Fantasy Faire. In the evening when it cooled down, she put her hanfu on over her clothes in lieu of a jacket.  It was so cute!  We sure heard a lot of compliments in the couple of hours that she wore it and her little friend instructed me to make one for her and her sister.

Happy Birthday to my little princess!

*** UPDATE ***
11/8/2013

My little Mulan met the real Mulan at Disneyland. Mulan saw her and gasped with excitement! She was like a little princess on Christmas morning when she saw Libby in her Mulan hanfu! Very exciting! Here are the princess twins together:

The Redondo Twirly Skirt -or- Spin till you are Dangerously Dizzy

This skirt is dangerous!  Dangerous if you can't handle being dizzy, that is. I cannot; therefore, I will not wear one. I will not spin and twirl.  My daughter will. She's five; she can do that.

The first time I saw this skirt, an adorable little girl in my daughter's kindergarten class was wearing it. The next time I saw her, she had another one on. Then another. Her mom sews!  I got to know her mom a bit, but I forgot what she said her name was. That's ok, I just call her "The Redondo Mom" because of the skirt. Well, I don't call her that, I just refer to her silently in my mind as the Redondo Mom. Pretty sure she wouldn't answer me if I actually called her that out loud. Yeah, that might not be so cool.

That was 2 years ago. I've been thinking about that skirt ever since. It's that stinking cute! 

Recently, Redondo mom shared the pattern with me. I was so excited! Like, Christmas morning (after coffee) excited! I traced the pattern, all sizes, then traced another one for a friend of mine who has two little twirly girls, and returned the pattern unharmed by my crazy children.  They'd find it and spill something on it for sure.

The skirt consists of three pieces. One is a rectangle, I totally understand that one. It's the waistband. The other two pieces are completely confusing.

I've been sewing for 21 years now. I've seen so many patterns and could most of the time put them together. This one had me completely baffled. The two skirt pieces look like partial snail shells. I held them and tried to figure out how on earth they make a skirt, and how they fit together, which way is up, which end goes where... yeah, I don't know.

I followed the instructions very carefully. Rechecking every time I put things together. It never made sense. I put the curves together even thought it felt like I was making mistakes. They didn't look like they wanted to line up. But, that's what it said to do.

First, I made five swirls, then put those curly panels together and you'll never guess what! It totally made the cute little skirt! Perfect!!! I'm not sure how that happened when it felt so weird. I really need to practice sewing things that have no straight lines. This was a step out of my comfort zone. Which made it especially satisfying!

Then I tried out the pattern on the largest size pattern. It was so sweet! But it turned out too long for my little spinner. Hmmmm....  Let's try again.

I now knew which end was up, so I shortened that end. I also cut the pieces a wee bit skinnier and made one more for six panels. Then I cut two types of fabric for the panels so they could alternate. Of course, I cut a couple of pieces backwards and had to recut them. I'm learning.  I sewed them together and next thing you know, skirt #2 was done!  Score! It looked a lot better than the first. In fact, it looked good enough to wear.  We gave it to a little girl for her birthday.

Then, I made a third. This is fun!  Skirt #3 turned out just  as good as the second one and I love it! More than that, the girls love it!  The largest size fits my smallest girl, so I'm going to have to figure out how to expand the pattern for my bigger girl. She likes to twirl too.

The skirt doesn't take long to sew. Maybe an hour or two at the most. Of course, it takes me longer because I have to keep three kids from taking all my pins out of my pin cushions, cutting up my fabric scraps, running hotwheels under my sewing table (over the pedals) and keeping the Barbies from climbing all over my ironing board. Slows down the sewing a bit.

I cannot wait to make more Redondo skirts! Thank you, Redondo Mom! or whatever your name is.

My Kid, The Writer

Translation for those of you who don't read seven year old handwriting:  I had a good summer. I went to South Dakota. I split my chin again. I got five stitches. My mom broke her foot. I helped a lot. (doing chores) My dog, Sandy died. 

There is only one statement in this entire essay that is a stretch of truth. The rest of it is completely true! Guess which one is a bit of a  stretch.....  Yup. The first line. "I had a good summer."  Really? That was a good one? That was the worst summer this family has ever had!

I can only recall one other summer that sucked as bad as this one did. It was 1981 when I was 15; my older sister went away to boot camp and left me home to do all the chores and babysitting. Once I realized how much she did to help out the family and how lazy I was by comparison, my summer was doomed. I was no longer getting away with anything. Darn the luck!  Plus, it was the 80s and my world revolved around my hair, which was never awesome enough to satisfy my egocentric adolescent attitude.  In retrospect, that summer wasn't as bad as this one. The summer of 2013 wins the worst award.

I can't believe my daughter split her chin open again and had to get stitches again. Isn't that one of those once in a lifetime things? Twice is just not fair. When it happened, she was in South Dakota on her vacation with daddy. Just her and daddy, no mama there to comfort her and give her hugs. Her dad handled it just fine, in fact, he was great!  But still... ouch!

The poor kid had to pitch in and do chores every day. She learned how to do dishes, load and run the dishwasher, and put them away. She took out the trash. She vacuumed and swept (although sweeping wasn't her best talent). She helped with laundry. She put groceries away after carrying them in from the car.  And she even helped change the littler kids pajamas, shoes, and diapers. She helped the littler kids get into and out of the car and assisted with the seat belts, and she learned how to start the car to get the AC going too. She stepped up because she had to. I was broken all summer and couldn't do much except get in the way.

Our dog of 12 years died this summer too. It's been an adjustment for all of the kids to be without her; they've never known life without the dog.

Poor Gracie, she really did have a bad summer. We all did.

Marriage and Dating

My husband called me from work on Friday afternoon, after 5:00 when he should have been on his way home already.  

Fridays generally go like this: He is happy to finish his long week at school and he is home by 4:30pm -or- he is happy to finish his long week at school and he comes home at 8pm. If he doesn't rush out of there and head straight home then I know he went out to have a bite to eat and a beer with his teacher friends. More Fridays than not, he chooses to go out with his friends. I get jealous. I've had a long week too and I don't have the option of stopping on my way home for some grown up conversation in a grown up only restaurant where they serve grown up food and nobody throws it on the floor. 

Anyway, it was Friday again and he called. 

Husband, "Do you want to go out on a date tonight?"
Me, "No. Well, not with you. I will with someone else though."
Husband, "What? Why?"
Me, "Because I don't want to try to find a babysitter. I'll have to date someone else so you can watch the kids."
Husband, "oh, ok. Actually, the date isn't with me anyway. Lora and Mirna want you to go out with them after I get home."
Me, "Awesome!"

We've come to a point in our marriage where we can only date other people.  Now, what should I wear?

Was lots of fun! My friend drives a BMW and she put the top down. So nice on a hot Cali night! 

We tried to figure out a place to go, ended up choosing a winery restaurant in Old Town, parked and went to the place across the street from the one we chose. Talk about indecisive!

 It was great, we did a wine tasting, bought a bottle, ate dinner and sat on the patio listening to live music. 

 

Had a ton of fun. I really enjoyed it and it was nothing like my husband would have done, so I extra enjoyed it because I always go places that he likes and he never goes places that I like (for restaurants).

An ankle comparison: Broken vs Sprained

Unfortunately, I can compare a broken ankle to a sprained ankle.

Broken Left Ankle:

Sprained Right Ankle:

*Same feet, two months apart, different cameras, strangely different colored skin tone, but whatever.

They look the same as far as the swollen deformity goes. But the difference lies in the PAIN!  Lefty hurt a million times worse than Righty; although, for a moment, I wasn't sure if Righty was broken or not, but then the moment passed and I knew that one was ok. Sprain pain is not nearly as intense as breaking a bone pain. But, sprain pain isn't any cup of tea niether.

I could not put the tiniest bit of pressure on my foot when I broke my left ankle a couple of months ago. But the other day when I sprained my ankle, I was able to get up and limp along on it. That's when I really knew it wasn't broken. 

The other difference is that when I fell and broke Lefty, I was all alone. I could cry and wince and wail all I wanted. I was free to express myself. When I fell and sprained Righty, I did it right in front of my whole family and another family. Had myself a good sized concerned crowd. I did the best I could to pretend that I didn't fall much, I was fine, nothing hurt much, and I just needed a minute and I'd get up. They weren't buying it, but I tried to sell my "I'm just fine" story.

I broke the left one killing a spider.

I injured the right one falling down one stair. I went down like an imploded stack of bricks. Or like a sinkhole opened up under a big brick building. Either way, I went down fast and hard, like bricks.

We were invited to our new friends' house. Such nice people, and they just moved to town . Keith and I went with three of our daughters and one grandson. We joked that we're an invasion, not a little visit. We stepped inside their house and said "Hi" and all of that small chatty greeting stuff. I took a few steps inside so they could shut the door and down I went. There was a step down from the entryway to the main room. I totally didn't see it!

I know it's there now. Not that they'll ever have my clumsiness over again.

There were 20 legs surrounding me all saying "Are you ok?" and lovely compassionate things like that and my husband saying "I can't believe you just did that". I know he wanted to laugh, and I wish he would have to lighten up the mood.

I sprained my ankle, hyper-extended my left wrist and got a big beautiful bruise on my right elbow. I really hit hard. Imagine what I could do with a whole flight of stairs!