Sept 11

I wanted to post something about Sept 11 yesterday, but simply didn't have the words. Sept 11, 2001 was such a dark and scary day for all of us. J and I were living in Chicago, both working downtown ... He was on the el train on the way downtown when the towers fell. I remember
calling him, begging him to go home. My dad was in NYC on a business trip and ended up waiting in a triage unit as a volunteer waiting for survivors that never came. He was pushed to safety by a firefighter as building 7 fell. That was a day most of us will never forget.
I say prayers for the thousands of families affected by the loss of a precious one that day.
Today, driving down PCH in Malibu, I was given an image as we passed my Alma mater - Pepperdine University... It appears there is a flag for each person who lost their life that day. A beautiful, sobering, precious image.

Vanity.... Oh vanity

We are headed to the Emmys tomorrow for J's show ("Fringe"). My week, along with all the stress of the first week of school, ballet and tumbling - along with prep for MOPS kicking off next week, has been peppered with me trying to find a dress and all the garnishes for going to the Emmys. (no small task when you have all of 2 kidless hours for shopping) My main goal has been to find something that makes me look like I didn't have 2 babies. I was excited to find this dress... It made me feel skinny and pre-baby. Things were looking good... Maybe I'd look okay on the red carpet... Until today.

I picked up Mimi from school today and asked her about her various activities... Recess, classtime, new friends... It was fine, until...

Mimi: "Michael said, 'you have a fat stomach'"
Mom: "to you? Oh, honey, he probably said that after you ate and you had a lot of food in your tummy"
Mimi: "no Mom, he said YOU have a fat tummy. Like you are gonna have a baby."

Oh. Great. Thanks, Michael. I really needed that.

Two new friends...

I've been toying with getting a new sewing machine for about a year or so... But I didn't just want to dump mine first. I have had a lower end Pfaff (think of a cheap Mercedes Benz)... It's expensive to tune up, very German and particular, no nonsense, and really strong. But it's plastic. And there are parts of it that frustrate me. Honestly, it's a great machine. I bought it in hopes it would make up for poor sewing skills when I first started. It did.
Now I want more features, metal parts, no need for a name brand - as long as it's well reviewed.... And cheaper maintanance that I don't have to drive an hour to get to. Oh, and I don't have a lot of cash to throw down right now. (or I'd have taken your advice, annakatherine!)
Introduce "jenbp" from craigslist... Who was trying to sell a brand new top of the line Kenmore for half price. ;) my Pfaff is still in the room behind me, we shall decide what to do still... But for now, I'm liking the feel of this one. (there were tons of great experienced reviews online for this one...)

Oh, and the Kenmore's first project? A tote bag for me. Can you believe that after all these totes I have made, none have been for me? Cute, huh?

The Design Director goes to Kindergarten

Here she is! First day of school, in her school shirt and new spinny
skirt...

Mimi and mama

Tomorrow Mimi starts kindergarten. Which means today is the last day of random spontaneity for us. (sniff*sniff) here we are in our skirts for a day on the town. (mine is a custom Libby Dibby with one side from "undercover" and one from "espresso bean")

Simple things

Last night's project was not creative, but I will be bearing happiness from it fr a long time. Our 1922 bungalow does not have a basement or a garage (though we do have a cluttered half-guesthouse filled with Libby Dibby skirts), so the laundry room has been the catchall for everything. It's been an embarressing, dangerous room. Our kids are not big "explorers", so it wasn't hugely motivating to get everything locked up. However, our home study requires that we lock up everything (including laundry detergent), so it's been a weird thing to try and wrap our heads around. A few weeks ago, J was driving through our urban neighborhood and saw some high school lockers for sale by the side of the road. The people sold and delivered them to our place for $40, we painted them bright red (of course) - and now all of our chemicals, tools and random junk is safely under lock and key and my laundry room is no longer an embarressment!
We are also thinking of getting a stackable washer/dryer (please, please!) to maximize more space, though i'm thinking red may be a little too much to ask for.

More hot houses

Object: stay still in the heat (88 degrees indoors today)
Proect: cutting linoleum and eraser stamps
Unexpected part: other than stabbing myself numerous times (bandaid festival), finding that most of our stamp pads have dried out due to the heat.

Please, will someone turn off this heat?

Hot houses

It's still hot. Ze artiste is kinda sick so we are stuck in the house trying to move as little as possible. Today we've gardened, watched movies, practiced whistling and snapping fingers. (Oh, and Z keeps telling me to look at him because he is convinced that he's growing taller each minute.) We've colored clothespins with markers (hey, it's a easy, busy task) and now we've decorated chipboard houses with paper. I've been meaning to play with these houses for a few months, but today became the day as I tried to find anything to keep us calm and interested. Ze Artiste and the Design Director each made one (hers - of course is pink and glittery, and his - of course - is quite abstract). Momma's look pretty traditional, but they definitely reflect my busy happy taste. I think they'd look good in a frame  together, as a series.

Baby onesie love

I got this "thank you note" today for one of the onesies I made and sent out the other day to a friend for her new baby, Mia. Yay! Welcome baby Mia... I'm glad you love the fairy onesie!!!

Hot couture ... Ruby necklace

It's SO hot I can't think straight. And with these wildfires in Southern CA (last night we could see flames from our front yard, even 20+ miles away) it's not fun breathing- or trying to entertain cranky overheated preschoolers. But I did enjoy dressing this morning with my new necklace made by my friend Rubyellen (at www.mycakies.etsy.com). It's a lightweight fabric scrap necklace that elevates my humble tank top to something cuter and at least as I faint in the heat, I'll look cute doing it.