Blogging by Request: Blue Sweater!

Thanks, Tom, for reminding me of the beautiful sweater you made for Waylon when he was born!  The sweater was tucked into a drawer just waiting for its moment to shine.  Your prize is a spontaneous photo shoot, a playdough (sp? playdoh?) recipe, and your very own blog post about it all. 

It's always nice to receive baby gifts to grow into a couple years down the road.  This sweater is thick and soft and perfect for a chilly fall day like today.  Coincidentally, two of Waylon's favorite words to say right now are "poncho" and "cozy".  No joke, Poncho is one of his nicknames.  And all day long he refers to anything soft as "cozy."  It's the sweetest thing to hear.


And it pairs perfectly with...
No pants!



Here's the thing.  I do not consider myself to be a particularly crafty mama.  A creative person, yes.  But not super great at the organized kids' craft projects.  For example, this summer I told myself that one way to battle the July "too many long, lazy, lonely afternoons in a row" blues would be to pick one simple project off of Pinterest for each weekday in July and do them with the kids.  That place is a treasure trove of ideas, and they are not all fancy or complicated, believe me.  This routine lasted exactly one day.  Actually, to be more precise, it lasted about 30 seconds.  We mixed baking soda and vinegar in an empty jelly jar, watched it fizz, and called it a volcano.  But that was only after the kids annoyingly and relentlessly BEGGED for this science project to commence - all day long.

While I may have room for improvement in my Pinterest success rate and my overall craftiness, once I discover an easy project that the kids and I enjoy, I find myself returning to it repeatedly.  This playdoh recipe is an example of that.  Don't get me wrong, we love the store bought kind, too, but this stuff is fun to make occasionally and only takes about 5 minutes.

Playdough (doh?) Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Salt
1 tablespoon Cream of Tartar
1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
1 cup Water

Directions:
1. In a medium sized pan, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Add wet ingredients to pan and, again, mix well.  (I like to add gel food coloring at this point, but other people prefer to do it after the dough is done.) 

2.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.

3. The dough is ready when the mixture pulls away from the pan and when the wet parts begin to look dry. 

4. Turn the dough onto your countertop or some waxed paper and knead it until smooth. It will be quite warm to the touch.  

(Adapted from Counting Coconuts)

If I'm not busy, why do I feel so crushed sometimes?

This article ("The 'Busy' Trap" by Tim Kreider for the New York Times) was an interesting read and a good reminder that the opposite of "busy" is not "lazy."

I think it nicely echos for adults some of the sentiments that Simplicity Parenting, (that book I started but still haven't gotten through since Joe temporarily stole it to read on his daily el trips), puts forth for children.

I'll admit I often feel overwhelmed in my daily life, but I am beginning to realize that I've been looking at it all wrong and describing my situation incorrectly.  Yes, I have three children under five, and keeping them fed, clothed, and occasionally bathed can easily fill the hours of my day (and sometimes night).  However, I don't have a job, I get babysitting help to buy myself some freedom now and then, our children are enrolled in almost no activities, I've given myself a pass during Waylon's babyhood on actively participating in any civic or charitable organizations, and we don't even feel obligated to accept all of the children's birthday party invitations that the girls receive from classmates.  So yeah, I think my house is a mess and thank-you notes are unwritten because I'm prioritizing other things, not because I'm busy.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing.  If I feel spent after a day of domesticity, or if you feel spent after a day at the office, maybe vegging out and watching the new "Dallas" really is a better way to recharge than weeding out the winter clothes from your dresser would be.  (Yes, it's July and I'm just now getting to the seasonal switch of kids' clothing.)  I'm just trying to find the right balance, because when to-do's pile up, and entropy runs its course, I start to go crazy.  Physical clutter seems to lead to mental clutter (or unrest?) for me.  So perhaps I am not busy, just disorganized.  Also, while I say I'm fine with my priorities, maybe I'm not really because there's usually some task that feels like it's hanging over my head (sometimes for months), and I do feel guilty about not keeping up with personal correspondence better than I do.  

This may have been a weird, disjointed post, but in conclusion:
1) Dallas rocks.
2) Here are some tips for simplifying the storage of children's clothing, which I suck at.
3) Are you watching the new Dallas?  Because you should be.
4) You may not busy as you go around saying you are.  Or if you are that busy, then do something about it if it's within your control, or stop complaining about it/bragging about it.

Straight from Milan (by way of June)

Apparently, June's new stylist is her friend Anna. 

This is June. She is wearing the latest fashions. A big hat because it's sunny. A neck warmer because the last thing she wants is a chilly neck. A little midriff because she just ate.  A single boot style house slipper because her feet are never the same temperature.  A lei because she just got off a jet from Hawaii.  A monkey because...  Oh come on, accessorizing with a monkey is just cool.

"The Most Beautiful Dress in the World" - IN ACTION!

If I have the legend right, this masterful creation, aptly named "The Most Beautiful Dress in the World", was sewn by Joe's aunt Kathy and originally worn in the early 80's by his sister, Sara.

ETA:  Oops.  Apparently I had it wrong.  The dress was sewn by Joe's Gran and was worn by all of her granddaughters. 




(I don't know how to braid. Her preschool teacher did that!)

And now, an opportunity to show you Georgia's mad balance bike skills! June trotting along in this video kind of blocks the view of Georgia's ability to put her feet up on the back, but that's okay, because June trotting along is also quite entertaining to me. : )

[video]