a milestone, among other things

The boys went to bed by themselves three nights ago for the FIRST. TIME. EVER. They didn’t even attempt to leave their beds. There was a bit of crying and begging from both on the first night, but here we are, three nights later, and you’d think they’d been doing it for years! This is big – no, huge – for us. My husband claims he’ll gain an extra 8-10 hours per week of free time. I know, I know, they should have been doing it long before this. I think we were just so used to our routine, and no one wanted to rock the boat. Sleep is a very precious and fragile thing in this house. The boys share a bedroom and every night we read to them, and then one of us would stay in there until both were asleep. Usually my husband would be the one to stay (this allowed me to rebuild my sanity). He would fall asleep too, though, and not wake up for a couple of hours usually. Now, we still have our reading time, then we tuck them both in, turn on some music, check on them a couple of times, and (sigh) enjoy the silence.

The next milestone (that I know of) in our household will be Fred’s 3rd birthday. Every year I fret over what to do for the boys’ birthdays. I always want to make them some things, even though I know I am the one most excited about those presents. I’ll be sharing some of them with you as I make them. But before I start Fred’s things, I need to finish up start sewing some things for my sweet little niece, Avery. The only thing I actually have done so far is make this Kidlet wall pocket for her room, designed by JC Handmade. You can find her great tutorial here.

thanks, dad

My father was a biology teacher before he retired and has always been interested in botany. One day he stopped by my house with some botanical charts he’d RESCUED FROM THE TRASH. Can you believe that?! Someone tossed them out! He knew how great they were and that I’d love them. We’ve since taken a couple of them and “framed” them with strips of trim (the kind you can buy by the foot at any home store). We sandwiched the top and bottom of the chart between two strips on each end and secured them with screws. I then ran a length of ribbon through the “strip sandwich” and around the screws to hang it. Thanks, Dad.

“i have moves”

This is what we are told whenever Fred dons a mask or wields a (toy) sword. He then pivots and performs what looks like a cross between Tai Chi and modern dance. He is my entertainment tonight while making dinner.

I attempted to start cutting fabric today for some new things for the shop, but never got past the staring-at-piles stage. The morning was consumed by a trip to the dentist and an uneventful trip to the thrift store. Not that I need to buy anything else to cram into our little home, which is already bursting at the seams. I desperately need it to be just a tad warmer outside (by about 3o degrees or so) so that the backyard can again become an extension of our family room.

 

 

 

in my shop

Folklore Dress/Top available in my shop.

new shoes

I found these great little shoes here. I was inspired after reading this post. I meant to put them away to use for a Christmas decoration next winter, but I just can’t.

day one

This is day one of my blog. I’m sure I’ll cringe as I reread this at a later date, but here goes…

My name is Megan. I’m a 36 yr. old mother of two small ones living in Michigan. I work outside my home on a very part-time basis (about twice a month). Most of my time is spent caring for my five year old Henry, and my two year old, Freddy. Henry is in Montessori every weekday morning and Freddy is home with me all day. I love to make things and spend a a good amount of my (very limited) free time sewing. I find I’m most productive after my kids are both asleep for the night. I love doing patchwork, quilting (on a small scale, so far), clothing for kids, bags, purses, pillows…I could go on and on. I love thrifting for fabric and end up collecting lots of other things as a consequence.

I find there is not enough time in the day…oh, what I could do with an extra hour every day! So, why, you may wonder, am I starting a blog, which will take up even more of my time? Well, the short answer is this: to be able to share a bit of what I make with others, to give a little glimpse into the everyday chaos that is life with little ones underfoot, and to keep far-away family and friends up to date. (Was that a short answer?)

So, come back and visit often. I’ll be regularly posting about things I’ve made or am making, bits and pieces of our life, and things that inspire me.