Homeowners and sleepovers.

Tomorrow is the big day. We close on our new house in the morning and will become officially poor. We are super excited and just hope that all goes well.

In other news, I am planning to give a friend of the Numa's a Sleepover Kit for her 2nd birthday. So far, my list of things necessary for a sleepover includes:

1. Pajamas - No nude sleepovers when you are 2. Once you are an adult, you are free to have nude sleepovers whenever the mood strikes you.
2. A blanket - Because it gets cold at night.
3. A pillow - To provide a gentle but effective weapon against your fellow sleepmates.
4. Slippers - For when you need to pee in the middle of the night.
5. A sleep mask - Because it is adorable.
6. A toothbrush and toothpaste - Fresh breath is not optional.
7. A stuffed animal - To keep you company all night long.
8. A bag - To carry the essentials.

I am liking this list so far and will pick up most of the supplies this weekend. What did I miss?

Be well,

Me

The Gruffalo.

I am incredibly picky about children's books. This isn't surprising, since M and I spend a good bit of time each day reading to the Numa and if you have ever had a child pick a terrible book as a favorite, you know how long those sessions can feel. He has gotten some truly awful books in the past, either from me because the description sounded good or as gifts from people who hone in on his current favorite thing and choose a book solely for its inclusion of that thing. For instance, he is really into cats (probably because we have two of them) and a good friend got him How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats? People really seem to like this series and as an adult, I understand the concept of presenting the wrong way of doing something immediately followed by the right way to illustrate a point. However, I happen to think that the beginning of this book is just mean and has the potential to inspire bad behaviors. When I got to the part about "giving the cat a throw," I immediately put this one in the Goodwill pile.

Another beloved book that I just cannot stand is Pat the Bunny. My Amazon review provides a summary of my impressions:

Not only is it boring, it's also overpriced and cheaply made

I am at a complete loss as to why this book is a classic. Is it just because it has been around so long? The story is non-existent and the language is halting and awkward (and yes, I get that repetition is good for language development, but not if you can't stand to read it more than once). "Bunny is eating his good supper." Really? In addition to it's lack of charm, the book itself is cheaply made, smells funny and can be unsafe, as the plastic binder is easily removed by determined little hands. There are far better books for $10.

According to the one comment generated by my review, I am "over-analyzing just a smidge" but I don't think so. Who wants to own books for their toddlers that are uninteresting, cheaply made and smell like drugstore perfume?

On to my point...my new favorite kid's book is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. The language in the book is engaging and lively and the cast of characters gives me the opportunity to do multiple voices, which Numa loves. He especially enjoys my Gruffalo voice, and we both end up laughing so hard we cry every time I read it. I love the cadence, I love the drawings and I love the mouse, who is crafty and creative. I highly recommend this book and am going to order The Gruffalo's Child even though the reviews aren't quite as good.

Here's hoping you are reading a book you love tonight.

Be well,

Me

We bought a house. For real this time.

Wow. So November 2nd is the last time I remember feeling okay while also having free time. Lots has been happening here, not least of which is that we bought a house! And this time, it is really happening. The inspection went really well, money has changed hands and barring a horrible natural disaster, it will be ours for good on February 3. We are excited and scared and very, very poor.

The house is a split-level, mid-century modern built in 1969. It has 4-5 bedrooms (depending on how we decide to use the space), 3 outdated and extremely ugly but functional full bathrooms, a large family room, lots of windows and a full basement. The kitchen, like the bathrooms, is outdated and poorly laid out and will be the only big project we tackle before we move in late March. We are in the process of interviewing contractors and choosing all of the kitchen elements and I will share all of them here. We want to be true to the clean, mid-century beginnings of the house but also want it to have touches of us (which for me means handmade), so the final product will be a little of both. I expect that there will be many trips to IKEA in our future...

Until we meet again, enjoy this picture of the master bathroom. In particular, I would like to point out that the toilet seat and cover, while both clearly an ugly powder blue, are stained and faded and do not match the ugly powder blue of the toilet itself. This bathroom is WINNING.

Be well,

Me

My little mummy.

This is the project I chose for the Fall Pinterest Challenge issued by the YHL folks and their lovely blog pals. See their posts at Young House Love, Bower Power, Ana White and House of Earnest.

This isn't going to be a detailed post, but I finished the Numa's mummy costume just in time for Halloween. Yay! I think I had about 15 hours worth of work in this outfit (after I had to completely redo the jacket because it was enormous) but it was totally worth it. I am going to paste a few pics without much explanation, but basically I used clothing he already had to make my own pattern (a la Sweet Verbena; see inspiration pin here) for the pants and jacket. The bandages were gauze I found at JoAnn Fabrics, which I washed and ripped into long strips. Then I laid the strips out over some white cotton flannel (also from JoAnn - on sale!) and individually machine appliqued each bandage, stitching along the edges and making sure to do any strips that were underneath of other strips first so that I didn't have any oddly placed lines of stitching. You can see the process in some of the pics below.

For the pants, I used my favorite easy kid's pants tutorial from Balancing Everything (see inspiration pin here) and laid the strips out on each piece so there wouldn't be side seams interrupting the clean lines. Then I hemmed the legs and was going to just fold the waist over and insert the elastic, but the gauze wasn't quite as soft as I wanted so I lined the waist with flannel.

 

Radar helping me work.

Pants leg before applying bandages.

Bandaging the legs.

Facing the waistband.

For the jacket, I used a sweat jacket that the Numa wears almost every day. To attach the bandages, I sewed the side seams of the fleece and then applied the bandages to avoid seams in the gauze. Unfortunately, my Achilles heel in sewing is the fear that things will be too small, so usually everything is too big because I over compensate. This jacket was no exception...it was HUGE after the first time I finished it. Wop wop. Being the perfectionist I am, I ripped out most of the stitches of the FULLY LINED jacket (that's right...I live in New England where we get a foot of snow in October...fully lined and the sleeve lining was satin so his clothes wouldn't catch) and re-made the whole thing. And had to have side seams. I won't lie...that hurt. And even now, there is too much fabric in the top of the torso. I will probably still fix it cause letting it go just doesn't sit right, but it was really cute even if it didn't fit perfectly.

Jacket pattern.

Jacket body with bandages.

Placing the zipper.

Basting in the neck band.

Inserting the lining.

The Numa did not appreciate my hours of work and did not care for the jacket. He managed to break the zipper half-way through Halloween but with the zipper open, you couldn't really tell it was too big in the top. Silver lining there. He did wear the pants all day at school, so clearly those were comfortable enough to get his seal of approval. He also really liked trick-or-treating, but didn't really understand the whole candy thing. He isn't a sweets guy (clearly not my child) and would try to trade whatever he was holding for the new candy offered at each door. He walked from door to door waving and shaking the packages and eating raisins, which one of our neighbors was kind enough to give instead of candy. We did make him say thank you for everything he got, which comes out "tink oo" and is super adorable. I think that next year will be even more fun.

After Halloween.

I am already excited about next year and can't wait to make him more costumes. I love being the mom who people can't believe made the costume. I am sure that makes me a terrible person, but there it is. My house is a wreck, I am exhausted and we ate take out the last two nights, but at least everyone thinks I have it all together. :)

Thanks to Sherry, Katie, Ana and Erin for sponsoring this challenge once again!

Be well,

Me

P.S. In a previous post, I promised pictures (alliteration rules!) of the Numa's costume from last year. I made him scrubs and a stethoscope and he was a doctor (or veterinarian). The top of the scrubs was the hardest part, since I didn't think that pulling a woven top over the head of a baby would be a good idea and decided to place buttons. I also lined the pants with sweatshirt fleece, but didn't line the top since he was going to wear a shirt underneath. The outfit wasn't perfect (the edging still makes me cringe) but it was adorable. This picture is of the pants only but I will look for a better one. Enjoy!

A recipe

Yeah, I'm not even going to apologize for the lack of KCWC posts. I actually finished a pair of pinstriped pants for the Numa and have planned most of his Halloween costume, but haven't photographed anything yet so I won't be posting about that until I do. Besides, I am still the only person reading this (other than my husband, who apparently checks these posts...thanks babe!). M, if you were offended by the lack of posts, just look around the house and it will all make sense.

Instead of posting about crafts, I am going to post a recipe that is one of our favorites. I actually wrote this a while ago, with some background about the inspiration as well as the full recipe. I will make it soon and update this with a picture. Enjoy!

My mother was a stay at home mom.  It was great for me and my sister, since she was always there to help us with homework or take us to various activities.  Looking back as an adult, I realize that we definitely didn’t appreciate all of her hard work or the fact that we were (most likely) slowly driving her crazy.  Don’t get me wrong...we helped around the house.  No one had more chores than we did and they were never suspended.  If we had friends over, they either waited or helped which seemed so cruel at the time.  However, so many things that made no sense to me as a child or young adult are so clear to me now, and none more so than the fatigue and aggravation that comes of being the main cook for your family.  Our immediate and never changing answer to the question “what do you want for dinner” was “I don’t know.”  It took almost 30 years for me to understand the silent rage that those 3 words can incite but now that I am the one trying to put a nightly meal on the table, not many things irritate me more than that response.  How can anyone have no preference whatsoever about food?  We all have likes and dislikes...why can’t we voice them?  I would rather make a special trip to the store for an ingredient I am missing than to get no input at all about what I cook for my family.  Karma, you are a giant bitch.

The real tragedy of my youthful indifference was that my mother is a fabulous cook.  She can make anything and rarely uses recipes.  One of her specialties was and is something we have charmingly termed “trash soup.”  The name was no reflection on the taste...trash soup is amazing.  Mom would simply empty all the leftovers that may otherwise go bad and combine them into shockingly wonderful soup.  We continue to tease her about her soup, but it is still one of my favorite comfort foods.

One night, deep in the throes of a “woe-is-me” session about the dinner plan that just wasn’t materializing and the lack of input from my spouse, I took inspiration from trash soup and Southwest Quinoa Salad was born.  I gathered some lonely vegetables from the fridge, some leftover cooked chicken breasts and quinoa and created a dish that can stand alone or be a side.  It is versatile and quick, requiring only the time it takes to chop veggies and/or cook your chosen protein, which is a must when you have a hungry toddler.  It is easy to keep vegetarian if you so desire and can be adjusted to suit your particular tastes or available leftovers.  If it saves you even one night of dinner frustration then I have done my good deed for today. 

Be well,

Sarah

Southwest Quinoa Salad

(All ingredients and amounts are adjustable according to taste.)

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces (I sometimes substitute 2 cups of edamame for a veggie version)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 container cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2-3 medium bell peppers, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2-3 Tbsp EVOO
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2-3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp agave nectar or honey
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin (I LOVE cumin so this may be too much for some people)
salt to taste
fresh cilantro and/or avocado (garnish, optional)

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.  Most of the time, you will combine 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water, bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.  Some quinoa requires rinsing before use, so be sure to read the instructions.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, chop chicken and veggies and rinse beans if you haven’t already.  Combine all veggies and proteins in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add cooked quinoa to bowl with veggies and proteins and top with all remaining ingredients except garnishes.  Stir until evenly mixed.
4. Serve in bowls while warm or refrigerate and serve cold.  Garnish with fresh cilantro and/or avocado slices.

All veggies and proteins can be cut, rinsed and/or cooked in advance, making assembly much faster.  Obviously, you can add, take away or substitute almost any veggies or proteins in this dish.  I have made this dish with many variations and usually get rave reviews.  It is a great make ahead dish for pot-lucks or picnics and keeps well for several days in the fridge.  Because it is entirely veggies, lean proteins and grains, it is also good for you as long as it is consumed in moderation.

KCWC

I am not technically behind on KCWC. I have spent at least one hour each day since Monday (Sunday, actually) working on kid's clothing. However, I have yet to finish anything. So far, my week has consisted of two not-so-perfect attempts at projects. My biggest challenge when making anything is my constant fear of making things too small. That means that I tend to overestimate and everything comes out waaaay too big. I frogged my first hat cast on (plus 20 rows...frown) because it became very obvious that it was going to fall off of the Numa's head, rather than keeping it warm. Similarly, I cut a pair of pants for him that are at least 2 inches too long and 2 inches too big in the waist. That was actually only partly due to a fear of creating too-small pants...part of it was due to the fact that I really wanted the pockets of the shirt I was refashioning to be on the back of the pants. Unfortunately, the pockets of an adult men's shirt are too big to really be the back pockets of the Numa's pants, so I am removing the pockets (re-removing in one case) in order to cut them down further. I am going to have to add some sort of patch, though, because of how the shirt is worn around the pockets. I may just chuck them...it was a really old shirt, after all.

The good news here is that the pattern I made is actually good. Tomorrow I will use it more faithfully to make a lightweight pair of pj pants as a fore-runner to the Halloween pants. I feel certain that it will work out beautifully.

So, actual pics to come, including pics of the failed pants attempt.

Be well,

Me

And then he was 2.

Not really, but the attitude is there. I was fully prepared for the Numa to eventually go through the terrible twos. I just didn't realize that it would a) happen so early (he doesn't actually turn two until the end of the year) or b) that it would be so sudden. As in, one day, my darling son was the child who made most people say "hey, this isn't so bad. I could handle this." And the next day, he became the child who makes almost everyone think "what is wrong with this kid's parents? Haven't they ever heard of discipline?" or "maybe we should call child protective services because screams that loud are a clear indication of abuse." I can tell the next few months are going to be super fun. It is next to impossible to take him anywhere now, because all he wants to do is run loose, whether we are in a restaurant or a parking lot. And it is impossible to explain to someone this little and moody that running through a parking lot just isn't a good idea. So he screams and we look like terrible parents. Oh well. Who needs more friends, right?

On a positive note, I am getting all of my ideas and supplies ready to participate in the Fall 2011 Kids Clothes Week Challenge, issued by Elsie Marley. If you don't yet read Elsie Marley, you should, because Meg writes a wonderful blog and makes adorable things for her little people. I will be making several things for my Numa, including some new pants (using this pattern from Made), a new knitted hat (probably the Noro hat) and his Halloween costume! So fun. I will be posting each day about the progress I made the day before, so stay tuned.

Be well,

Me