Patience is a virtue....

And murder is a sin.

I had to keep repeating that to myself today. Alyssa stayed home from school with a sore throat and low-grade temp. Just enough to keep her out of school, not enough to make her feel really awful. As I had sewing to do, I suggested she come upstairs and join me. Had a (free!) pattern from Liberty Jane that I thought would be quite do-able for her.

Started off well enough. She made fun of my pattern weights (old D-cell batteries - hey, they work!) and enjoyed using my super-sharp spring loaded scissors a little too much.

Then the fun began.

Trying to get her to stitch a straight seam was near impossible!! Being the genius I am, I suggested perhaps she would let me draw a line on the fabric and she could simply stitch along it. This evoked tears and throwing herself on the floor, so I took that as a positive and drew the line on the fabric. Once she regained control of herself, she sat down and figured out that maybe Mommy's way wasn't so bad after all....

I also taught her to use the serger. Now this serger has seen me through roughly 25 years of sewing with nary a problem, but Alyssa was pretty sure it would amputate her fingers. After repeated questions on what I would do if she did indeed manage to cut her finger off, she gave it a try... and quickly discovered WHY sergers rock!!

Several tantrums, lunch, and a couple of cool-off drink breaks (and by cool-off, I mean temper, not temperature), and she was actually finished with her dress.

Now... the seams weren't as straight as *I* would have liked, and the hem got a little wonky, but I think she did a darn fine job for an eight year old kid with a 4-day beginner class under her belt!!


(she really is proud of herself... don't let the face fool you!!!)

The Crazy Things He Says

I've always heard that children can see, hear, and remember things that others can't because they've never learned not to.

I'm not sure if Sutton has a very vivid imagination or if he has had several traumatic past lives, but whichever it is, it's amusing to me.

This evening he began recounting one of his favorites, telling me about "that time I died". Except this time he didn't drown like he usually does. No, instead he was shot in the eye. And after he was shot in the eye, he went to the doctor and got to pick out new eyes. (so maybe he wasn't dead after all??)

He chose one blue and one orange.... except maybe he didn't, maybe it was one orange and one green, he's not sure anymore. After all, it WAS a long time ago.

I guess being shot in the eye will do that to you.

Introducing the Cast & Crew

I don't know how many times I find myself saying "Mom needs a glass of wine and some quiet time, guys!!", so what better title for the blog?

And without further ado (because odds are good I'll be interrupted anyways!), allow me to introduce the stars of the show.

Hannah is 10 years old, my firstborn. Very bright, she also lacks in common sense. I sometimes wonder how a child who is so quick to understand new concepts can miss the obvious. But then, she's blonde and takes after her father. Yup, that explains a lot!

Alyssa.... whoa.... Alyssa. At 8 years old, she suffers from classic middle child syndrome. She is also the child I was (cursed) blessed with when my mother yelled "I HOPE YOU HAVE A CHILD JUST LIKE YOU SOME DAY!!". Dark haired and dark eyed, she is the polar opposite of her sister in pretty much every way possible. Definitely my child.

Last but not least is the 5 year old Sutton. He is usually more levelheaded than either of his sisters but that may just be his age. He still likes to sleep with us more often than not and snores like a freight train. I see much of his father in him, yet me as well. Poor dude.

Co-Starring:
Roger, the father, my husband. We've been married almost twelve years and people still think it's a crazy story. He's a cradle robber according to his family, given that he is eight and a half years older than I am. He's also very introverted, although I'd like to think that's changed at least a little. Really though, he makes a heck of a fine chauffeur and pours a mean glass of wine.

The crew consists of a menagerie of animals. Our two Labs, Emma & Molly, are fat, old, and sweet. They do terrible things like eat entire loaves of bread, snore, and sleep a lot. We have four cats as well. Harry is 16 and grumpy. He meows his demands at me and I bow accordingly. Micah is 9 and very opinionated and loud. He has his opinion and will not hesitate to share it with you. Sam is 7 and likes to drool on my head. It's disgusting. Charlie is 1 and doesn't understand he is a cat. Orphaned before his eyes were open, he's now 20 pounds of what we're not sure. He's the kind of cat everyone likes. Too bad he doesn't like new people! Oh, there is also a guinea pig, Penelope. One of these days she's going to finally get old and die and there will be no more.

And the director of this whole shindig is me. I'm a not-yet 40 year old mom who teeters on the edge of insanity. I love my kids even though I'd like to kill them half the time, and thoroughly enjoy looking at the lighter side of things. If you can't laugh about it, it's not good. ;) I like to run (and yeah, I'm SLOW!), sew, read, knit, crochet, and sing, except I'm terrible at singing so I reserve that for my poor running friends. I'm also Canadian, which explains the drinking!!