I'm too old!

I was sitting on the recliner, my aching foot up as is the usual around the end of the day. Hannah walked over and handed me a picture hanging nail and hook, saying "Here Mom, I got this for you."

Huh? I thought.

She headed back down the hall towards her room, I had guessed. Not even a minute passed when she handed over three framed pictures.

"Here Mom," she said as I took them from her.
"Hannah, these are your ducks." I said, wondering what was up.
"I'm too old for ducks in my bathroom."

Wow.

Really?

Sigh.

Yes, really.

She got a Littlest Pet Shop room for her 8th birthday, her daddy and I worked hard on it. Why? Because she informed me she's "too old for finding Nemo."

At least she's not too old for cuddles while being told the various stories of when she was a baby.

"Mom, when I was a baby, what did I like to eat?"
"You ate baby food. You liked to play with it, too, because everytime I fed you, you sprayed the food out of your mouth."
She laughed.
"What else Mom?"
"Well, you liked to cuddle and be rocked to sleep."
"Like this?"
"Yes, but you were a lot smaller. You rested your head on my chest and you laid on my tummy. Sometimes, I fell asleep while rocking you. We both would be asleep on the rocker, and Daddy would find us. He used to worry that I'd drop you."
"But you never dropped me, right?"
"No, never."



I'm your lady, and you are my man

Very little is more amusing to me than walking out to the garage and seeing Ted work on the van with love songs blaring on the stereo. Really? My manly man listening to Celine Dion?

"You missed 'The Power of Love'," he said as I looked at him in amusement, some other sappy love song filled the garage.
"You actually remember that from our wedding?" I asked.
"Yeah."

Ladies, don't be fooled. They DO remember!

It didn't take long, though, for him to turn the station.

"Gee, hon, this isn't much better," I said as some girly song took over.
"Hey, it's Jack FM."
"Yeah."

I left him to his manly work, the only remnant of estrogen coming from Jack FM. Maybe the radio station ought to be called Jill FM? Or maybe it really is a "Jack" Jack FM, kind of like a Jack Mormon?

In other news, the tent that has been occupying my family room is now where it belongs. In the backyard. Hannah has been begging her daddy for a backyard camp out. He hasn't been enthused about it, when you have a TemperCloud mattress you get really spoiled. I think she may finally sucker him in to it tonight. She tried to sucker us into having her "barfy" friend sleepover in the tent. This friend throws up if she eats too much junk. Yeah, like I am going to be that accommodating.

I did acquiesce and allow sleepovers when Ted goes elk hunting. One friend from Friday to Saturday. Another friend from Saturday to Sunday. If one night is barfy friend, I will be the Junk Food Nazi and make the kid sleep with the barf bowl.

Wait...is that mean of me?

The No-Sleep Sleep

Dreaming while awake?
Ted asked questions, Hannah roamed
Heavy, gritty eyes

Chop Chop!

Is it possible to sweat from using a paper cutter?
'
If you have a lot to cut, it is a warm summer evening, and you forgot to put your hair up, yes.

Will you have perfect cuts from using a paper cutter?

Only if you actually line your paper up using the grid on the paper cutter. Otherwise, while your cut will have a straight edge, chances are it will not be at a 90 degree angle.

Can a paper cutter cut through lamination?

Yes. Provided there is paper within the lamination. It will not cut through just the lamination, but you will get a pretty good crease.

Can you sit and cut?

Not a good idea. While your back may beg of you to please quit stopping over, sitting is not going to make the job any easier.

Is it safe for my child to use?

If you have to ask this question, then you should not own a paper cutter. Kid scissors for you!

P.S. If you are fortunate enough to own this kind of equipment, give your child's teacher a hand. Chop chop! In fact, even if you don't, there is always a need for you parents to lend a hand.

Toby's Book by Hannah and Mom

I love how Hannah's mind operates. The simplicity of her story-telling in "Toby's Book" that she wrote on Tuesday night. The ability to remember the details which really makes her not so simple. Watching this, listening to her, it's fascinating.

Her book arrived from walmart.com four days early. Talk about exceeding my expectations! The quality was pretty good, too. We excitedly thumbed through the pages, everything looking just as she had hoped.

I am so amazed at how far she has come. A year ago, she completely shut down regarding school. It was too overwhelming. She refused to read, she refused to talk about school work, and now...she's writing stories.

If you like to write, read. If you like to escape reality for a bit, read. If you want to learn something new, read. I can't imagine what life is like to be unable to read.

Organza: The Curly Hair of Fabric

Organza is a sheer fabric often used in dress. It has a very natural flow, and does so beautifully. Those who know what organza is may think "it does not look curly!" Those who have worked with organza may have an idea as to why I think it is the curly hair of fabric.


I've worked with stretchy fabrics, such as jersey knit, lycra types, polyester blends. I've worked with fabrics that fray with the slightest touch. Think shiny Halloween costume fabric. The name of that fabric escapes me.


The stretchy fabrics curl and shift. The fabric that frays...once you cut it you need to either set it down and leave it alone, serge the raw edges, or get to work because the very second you lay your fingers on it, it will fray. While these fabrics are akin to a child with a slight stubborn streak, organza, in all it's airy beauty, is the high-maintenance not-going-to-do what you say child.


How is that like curly hair? I have curly hair. When it's at the perfect length, the lose curls fall just right. It doesn't take much, just some gel, scrunching, and I'm good to go. Back when perms were in, people paid big bucks to have hair like mine. Much like I paid $7 a yard for the organza.


Organza is pretty on the bolt. You look at it and get all kinds of ideas as to how you can use it to give just the right airy touch just by capitalizing on its natural flow. Let it pool at your feet, and it does so with grace.


But try to get it to behave against the grain? Curly hair.


As I've said, people used to pay bucks, now they spend time with their gels, balms, and curling irons to achieve curly hair. But when you have it naturally and you want it to perform against the grain? Organza.


I'm making curtains out of pink organza for Hannah's room. I thought it would add something a little different to what she has, a nice contrast. Pressing the cuffs for hems going along the grain is like doing so with any other fabric. Doing this against the grain was like getting a clump of my curly hair to curl the opposite direction.


Using higher heat on the organza will burn the fabric, using stiffen it and likely have it stick to the iron, maybe also burn it. Each time I pressed, the cuff sprang back open as if it was spring-loaded.


As some point, you have to give up, take the fabric to the sewing machine, and stich inch by painful inch...curling and tucking a cuff as you go. And no, for me, hand-stitching is NOT an option.


Hours have passed, I have one more side of against the grain hemming to go. I was supposed to have it finished today, along with assembling a bookshelf, before Ted comes home from Atlanta tomorrow.


And I will wear my hair curly.