02 December 2009
December 2nd POD
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01 December 2009
December 1st POD
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18:46
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Labels: DPP
29 November 2009
Putzbrunner Christkindlmarkt
All I could really get of Nikolaus, thanks to crowds and crowds of parents trying to hear their kids sing carols - or why else was it so packed full of adults when it's supposed to be kids who want to see Nikolaus? Anyway, Georgia was on Sven's shoulders and Dean on mine, so it was hard to hold the camera, and when i did get it to my face, I couldn't actually see anything but shoulders...
And my attempt after the crowds thinned, only gave me their backs: Nikolaus and Grampus (that spelling could be totally wrong, I've never heard him called that until that night!)
After Nikolaus left, the kids got their wish - they got to play with Isabella for a while. And they did, until all three of them landed flat on their faces and Isabella didn't want to play anymore. So she and Dean stood at the fence to the nativity and watched whatever (Dean is a little bit in love with Isabella and was happy to do nothing, as long as he was next to her) while Georgia whined that she wanted to go throw nuts so she could get a glow stick like Isabella's. I offered to let her throw nuts when we walked in that evening and she refused...we did let her though. We dragged Dean away from Isabella (under great protest) and Georgia threw a few nuts and got a glowing hair extension:
and then we walked home.
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28 November 2009
Model Eisenbahn Ausstellung...
Saturday, instead of regular trip to Aldi for weekly groceries, we went to P.E.P. to look at the Christmas Decorations.
Had we just looked at decorations, it would have been a nice morning too...however, if you get yourself all the way there, it seems necessary to run into a couple of stores that you normally can't get to....such as Saturn, to check on print cartridges:
Sven had found some coloring books and I had crayons in the backpack. The two of them were occupied until Georgia decided she needed to sit down and Dean then needed to as well, exactly where she was already sitting...screaming ensued and we left the store...
Saturn was followed by the main event, the stage and actual trains to climb on:

Then Someone decided she needed to eat french fries (which in the end meant, she wanted a toy from a happy meal...) and we had 'lunch' and then the most important stop when at P.E.P.

And then we made the mistake of going to the one store we never should have: the toy store that is supposed to have those tinker bell fairies that your little girl was begging for (was...key word) and the 'little sleeping beauty and little horsie' sets that you hope are still magical distractions for the airplane. So anyway, we did some shopping as well as some looking and unfortunately it all ended with a major meltdown that was Georgia literally screaming bloody murder and reaching pathetically over Sven's shoulder (he was carrying her) towards the toystore where she wanted to stay and play with the schleif puppies and dragons.
The thing about this toystore? It is teeny. It is crowded with every kid in the whole mall trying to play with the toys. The employees somehow think it is a good idea to restock the shelves in the middle of the day when the store is at its most crowded. And then, just to add insult to injury, they tell your daughter she is too young to be playing with the 'baby' toy and to turn it off. Serious. Georgia was playing with one of those wonderfully fascinating baby toys with blinking lights and music and this woman comes up to her and says: you're too old for that, turn it off. Or are you a baby?
HELLO? Georgia nearly started crying she was so upset. She turns and hides her face in my legs and says: I'm not a baby, I'm a grosses Mädchen.
Where does this woman get off anyway? I was so angry, and Georgia was therefore already upset. So when we went to look at the plastic animals (she loves them so) and the aisle was bursting with shoppers and the stupid woman who was trying to stock the shelves. So Georgia couldn't really get in and she so wanted to play with that big orange dragon. No wonder the tears.
Anyhow. After P.E.P., we went to Aldi (I did it by myself becuase Dean fell asleep in the car and Georgia didn't want out) and I boycotted the 'brot für die welt' kids (I'm mean. sorry. i I had already donated for something at P.E.P. and I hate it when they ambush you outside a grocery store, especially the cheapest grocery store in Germany) and we finally got home. Once home, a newly awakened Dean went looking for Molke in the shopping box and it broke my heart to see the look on his face, the lower lip pulling out and quivering when he realized there was no Molke for him. I was ready to cry with him, I felt so bad I hadn't just grabbed a couple bottles. Poor thing, wasn't his fault he fell asleep. Bad Mommy.
Finally home and shortly after another bundling and search for greens for the advent wreath. Georgia enjoyed walking on a freshly ploughed field and eventually realized running and hiding in the woods is fun stuff. Dean took a while to join in, and once he did, he had fun until he fell over too many times.
Busy Day!
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13:48
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27 November 2009
December Photo Project

Now to get through the rest of this day. Why are Fridays so rough anyway?
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17:33
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Labels: DPP, photography
Why does Busy-Busy always lead up to Sick?
Anyway. A lot of stuff going on in one week and instead of enjoying it all and relishing in the different-ness of it all, I get sick. And Thanksgiving? Too late this year. There is not even time to do something post-holiday at the weekend, like I have tried to do in the past, as Sunday marks the first day of Advent and Saturday will be spent getting ready for that, though no longer as planned, by gathering pine boughs for the advent wreath with Andrea - she canceled on me. I suppose either I'll convince Sven to go with us, or I'll just buy any that might be left at the store...and then we'll do some advent-decorating and get baking supplies ready.
And I've been trying to write this for too long and it's wordy and boring, so I'm going to share what pictures I have and get out of here.
Firstly: last week I finally made something just for Dean. He was so excited when I told him it was his, and all his, that I immediately felt guilty I hadn't done something for him sooner:
It's his Christmas shirt. I chose a pattern that had only three buttons and buttonholes to create/sew...and with suggestions from Cara, spiffed up the Simplicity pattern (2627).
The pocket is my own creation, the green panel seemed so big and plain...Sven thinks the shirt looks like a clown's shirt. Typical Sven comment, no?
At the end of the week, I did Georgia's 2nd Christmas dress, the kitty dress (with Dean) and realized again, how much he loved getting something of his own. He wanted her dress. In fact, he wore it for a bit, before I decided to add the pocket!
She loved the dress and wore it all day on Saturday, even though her face doesn't show it - she just didn't want her picture taken...
Pocket detail: I got a bit scrapbook-y on the pocket. I like my little cluster of holly leaves and berries.
Yesterday, I did the teacher gift bags and by the time I was done with the hand-sewing bits of them, I couldn't lift another needle if you'd paid me! Between my two kids, they have nine teachers...
And since I couldn't do any more hand-sewing (and I still have projects requiring it) I decided to do the travel pillows. I've been wanting to make them ever since I saw them here. I thought they'd be fun for the airplane and for long car rides to visit Oma and Opa. Mine are sadly wonky and lopsided, but both kids love them and don't care about the wonkiness. Since it is only the 2nd thing I've made Dean, you might be able to imagine, just how much he loves his...


I do have other projects planned...so it was hard to be unable to work today, but there ya go.
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Labels: sewing
22 November 2009
Wildpark Poing (mal wieder)
I'll make the wordy part of this quick: Georgia and Dean were having the most wonderful time a kid can have, 100 times more attention than usual from new faces willing to put up with all their ticks and tricks. They were getting to see, feed and pet wild animals. They had a picnic lunch and were happy as clams on the playground, when (for Georgia) that perfect world came crashing down around her ears; Tanja and Markus had to go home. It truly was the end of the world for her at that moment and nothing could console her tears...Well, nothing except some more playground fun with Mommy and an ice cream...But honestly, these kids live in the moment and that moment was truly terrible.
Dean was ambivalent, his terrible moment came later when he wandered in the path of a certain playground activity that involves a disc on a cable and fast flying through the air. Instead of walking through the path of the disc and the oncoming (flying) child riding it, he stopped, was bowled over and nearly bit through his lip. There was blood everywhere and he bruised his top gums badly. I suggested at that point that ice cream really would be a good idea, something like putting an icepack on the injured gums. Dean got a milkflip and it was rather pink in the end, instead of white.
Both kids survived the day, got to sit in the bike carrier with their ice creams and be wheeled to the bears and shortly after that, on home. Dean's face was a bit chewed up for two days after, but all is well now, no teeth are turning black, the gums are back to normal, and so is he.
Now, pictures:
and therefore you have nothing to feed them
and they don't care for petting or empty hands::
And then on into the park where it got cold (lots of woods and shade with the wind) so we put on jackets and hats, and it was too dark for decent pictures. Also, the animals were overfed and a bit shy and didn't want to come to the kids, no matter how hard they tried to get them. Finally, an older deer came out and every kid on the path and the area stormed it:
On the Playground:
Tanja and Markus Say Goodbye:
I mean, I know Dean is light and all...
and as for Dean, I'm not sure he's ever been that high up before!::
I thought I'd have more chances for pictures of the kids with Markus and Tanja, I didn't know they were leaving so soon, and neither of them got up to play with them on the playground, so in the end, all I have is this, with Georgia crying her heart out.
And that's all folks!
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20 November 2009
All *I* Want for Christmas
Is a good dose of bottomless patience. Please?
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17:01
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15 November 2009
What I've been up to
So there is this big huge holiday coming up, literally looming before us (no, not Thanksgiving, though if we are going to celebrate, I'd probably better start thinking about it) and because we are leaving on the 16th, my time for getting things together is cut a bit short.
Some peeks at what I've been doing (and in doing so, have managed to break six sewing machine needles, the cheap ones are pointless) and nearly start a stove top fire.
I'm a bit here and there today, and started this post hours ago, so don't go looking for cohesiveness, and just be glad it's up at all, because being interrupted for hours makes me not want to bother with finishing...
A few weeks ago, I was going through my bloglines reader and one of the blogs I read (I have no idea who this person is, or why I even started reading in the first place...), The Princess and the Monkey, was doing a month-long blogtoberfest and putting up daily blogs (wow). Two of those blogs were food-related and they were food items that I really have to make myself if I want to have them.
So when she posted about bagels, I had to make bagels.
And those turned out so yummy, that I made new bagels two days later, and then I made them again a week after that...
and then I burned them on the almost-stove-top fire yesterday.
And the she posted about making Cinnamon Rolls and I had to make cinnamon rolls. Now her cinnamon rolls look a lot more appetizing than mine did. But mine tasted fine, I just have neither bread machine nor bread flour...but they were soft and they were sweet and very, very sticky.
And we all had two and had to tell ourselves to stop so as not to have a stomach ache.
So cooking, and baking, and sewing and yes, even scrapping. I've been doing it all. All that is, except cleaning. Easy to push that one to the back of the line until it becomes a volcano about to erupt about your head!
First thing I sewed, was a Feliz for Juliet. Partly because I was a horrible friend and never got her a baby-present (TWO YEARS AGO) but mostly, just because I really wanted to make her one. It was finished up last week Saturday and popped in the mail with two matching headbands on Tuesday. Cara says it arrived in one piece yesterday, and therefore, I can share it with my blog readers without ruining the surprise! The Feliz is a party dress I fell in love with, but when I rec'd the pattern, nearly choked. It was not a simplicity pattern, that was for sure! Thank goodness, a kind soul out there in internet-world, wrote up a Feliz sew-along on her blog which enabled me to make the dress not one, not two, but THREE times, and counting. That's right, I made the Feliz for Georgia's birthday (it's the pink butterfly dress she's wearing) so making it for Juliet was a smoother ride. And when I made it a third time this past week, I hardly needed to look at the directions at all!
For Juliet's Feliz, I gave piping and bias tape a try and was dazzled with the results:
But we did. And we left at the same time as the neighbors/landlords and walked with them and I brought her into her classroom and left her there. Dean and I waited outside for the parade to start:
And then I told Georgia to walk on, we'd join in near the end. only we couldn't get int with the stroller and when I finally caught up enough to see where Georgia was, she was not happy. she was all but crying, and holding Irene's hand. So Dean and I nearly ran down a whole slew of Kindergartners to get to Georgia and calm her down. And then Sven showed up and we ended up at the end of the whole thing and so Georgia couldn't see the horse, missed the re-enactment of the St. Martin's story, and was missing the singing and her friends. She told me she was very sad. So we squeezed our way up to the front, which meant leaving Dean and Sven behind - she didn't like that.
And at the very end, there was a bonfire and benches for the kids and more singing and then geese-cookies and kinder-punsch.
Georgia was crying to go home by this point and scared of the fire because of sparks jumping out. and the fact that she was on the end of the bench and being squeezed slowly off by the other girls. and then her candle went out.
Dean appeared to enjoy it all much more than Georgia.
Friday was picturs at Bunchkids. Beautiful weather, Georgia in her birthday dress, Dean in his easter vest, both very white and the photographer decided to take advantage of the beautiful (warm) weather and have photos outside. the chance that they will be beautiful is high, but the chance that my white-clad kids would end up in the mud was much higher...!
Dean also woke up Friday with a fever (after keeping me up half the night) and so there was a lot of morning lounging and no sport. again.
But he's so darn cute...
And I was going to include some scrapbooking, but my computer has slowed down to slower than a snail's pace, meaning it's time to reboot (and hope) and therefore, I'll leave you with a few more pictures that are uploaded and that'll have to be that:
Firstly: Georgia's first Christmas Dress (at least, made by me, I suppose it's the 2nd officially). The Feliz again, this time without the million ruffles in the back, and therefore one on the bottom. This dress ate four sewing machine needles...and no, she won't put it on.
and a few more works in progress:
And time is up - I have to run!!
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11 November 2009
Coming to you from Irritation-Land
Tonight is the Laternen Umzug and before that is music and I'm just tired, tired, tired.
And that is why I can't keep up with this darn blog. No matter how hard I'd like to try, the computer just won't let me.
And that's enough grumbling from my side. Sometimes it just needs to get out.
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03 November 2009
Happy Halloween - a bit belated
Dean (coming down with yet another case of bronchitis) was supposed to wear a dalmatian costume, but he flat out refused. He ended up in his skeleton tee from last year - at least I still had it!
After Dean's nap, we pulled out the pumpkins. Georgia took off the dress (good move, Mommy!) and for the first time in four years, stuck her hands inside and got them gooey!
Dean, cranky from being wakened from his nap and from being sick, refused to join in the fun at first. However, an equally cranky Daddy (who was roused from his couch-nap) wouldn't lay with him on the couch any longer because I had given him the job of photographer (he was also cranky about that). So eventually, Dean joined in. He didn't want to touch the guts, but he did grab a knife.
I think I was in the process of cleaning out the rest of G's pumpkin as it was 'too heavy' for her...
And then she had to wait for her carving experience until I had finished carving Dean's pumpkin.
at least, she was supposed to be waiting!

what's in there?!

And then I begged and begged for pictures. Pictures inside were impossible, so I asked them to go to the balcony...slightly more success, on Georgia's part at least.
I give you: Cinderella (and many thanks to Cara for the dress pattern! This has been Georgia's favorite dress, period. No other dress got the same reaction that this one did when she saw it finished, or the excitement while it was being made):
And a little skeleton:
Showing Dean the pumpkins:
Unsuccessful attempt at getting a picture of them together:
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29 October 2009
He(rr)bstlich!
we stopped at the swings::
(this is my favorite photo of the day)::
he pushed his stroller to Kindergarten himself!::

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26 October 2009
Dean's 2nd Birthday (lots of pictures)
::finally! his very own Kitty!::
Lucky Dean, he got to have his actual party on his birthday.
Playing with their magnet books from Oma & Opa:
He didn't want to open his presents, and seemed happier before his guest arrived...
Eventually, he did start opening his presents, and made it known, that they were his.
the dinosaur!
And finally, Cake Time! This one is right after Arthur blew out the candles:

So we lit them again:

And Dean blew them out, after we re-lit them two more times and Oma pulled Arthur away from the table...


but it was worth it, he was very pleased with himself when he finally got to blow them out!
The Cake:


You see, my two-year old? He may go to Bunchkids three days a week and be surrounded by other kids, but we have not managed to force any specific friends on him, and he mostly is stuck playing with his big sister and tagging along on her play dates with her friends. My point being, when he is suddenly put face-to-face with other kids and expected to play with them, he tends to back off. So although he didn't play with Arthur or Alexander, and was too small and maybe a bit too sick to play with Georgia and Sebastien, I think he had a good birthday. I sure hope so!
Actually thinking back on it, his Oma and Opa were visiting and he was coming down with Bronchitis because we had just gone to his U7 and asked the pediatrician if we could stop the cortisone, and then did. He obviously wasn't ready to stop the cortisone as he got slammed with Bronchitis so bad, he missed half a week of BK and was miserable for a while there.
As for the U7 (or the 2-year check-up) the word is: he's too skinny and I'm not feeding him enough. Ahem. Two years ago? Two years ago, this same pediatrician told me that Georgia was overweight and I was feeding her too much. Truth is, both eat the same thing. I don't cater to them, they get the same food to eat, Georgia eats more, Dean eats a tad less. Dean is smaller boned, his metabolism is quicker and he never walks anywhere if he can run. Georiga is bigger boned and happy to sit still. The doctor can go walk his dog as far as I'm concerned.
And there was Dean's birthday, too quick and too short, but time is short and in an hour i have to get Dean up and head out to pick up Georgia so we can go on a playdate.
Mama Grouch, signing out.
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25 October 2009
Are we Here? is this thing on?
See, up until this year, Georgia had Leon and Emma. Playdates were limited to once a week, maybe with Emma, and whenever we were bored and wanted a distraction with Leon (when they lived downstairs). Suddenly, Georgia has friends! Friends who want her to come over and play! Georgia herself loves playing, but has not yet had the idea that she could ask for friends to come here (thank goodness). So now it seems we are having playdates too many and maybe I need to figure out a happy medium here too. Like, how many playdates are good in a week, especially when combined with Kindergarten itself, and her two extra-curricular activities (music and gymnastics).
Last week, was the most insane week of weeks yet. On Monday, Georgia went to Jack and Jill's and when Dean and I picked her up at 2pm, we biked straight to Isabella's house, where Georgia played, and Dean tagged along, until nearly 6pm!
On Tuesday, after Kindergarten, Georgia, Dean and I went to Gymnastics, where Dean and I sat out in the hallway and tried not to be too bored, while Georgia did 45 mins of sporty gymnastics and had fun.
On Wednesday, Georgia went to a market during Kindergarten (on foot) had music for an hour in the afternoon, and then came home to a playdate with Leon at the playground. She was exhausted (and she wasn't alone).
On Thursday, the weather took a turn for the wet and we biked in the pouring rain to Anabel's house where Georgia and Anabel played and fought (much like when we visit Emma) and Dean tried not to be jealous of the six-month twins. We did go on a wet-walk to see calves (penned in for later slaughtering) and horses (one so thin, it was all ribs).
On Friday we were slated to visit the American's, and Georgia and Audrey were both very excited about it. Unfortunately, Georgia woke up on friday coughing until she puked. We canceled the playdate, but she did go to Kindergarten. She woke up at 2am that night and did the same thing, only she threw-up all over our bed. Thank-you. Dean slept like a rock throughout the whole coughing, puking, bed-cleaning incident. Georgia herself spent Saturday pretty exhausted and whiny.
And this cannot be a typical week, or I may just turn into jelly and melt at the next mention of rain.
I will try and get back here. I'll even try and post pictures of birthdays, including Sven's! I'm not promising though. Because in the background, I am working on one project (one has wrapped up, whew) and trying to figure out and finish up Christmas presents, and for some reason, those things seem more important than blogging, don't you think? Well, if you are the recipient of said Christmas Gifts, I would hope you agree!
Until a more quiet time, Mama Grouch is signing out.
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07 October 2009
Georgia's Birthday Pictures
Okay, picture-heavy post coming up.
October FIRST:

What did she want for her birthday-breakfast? Cheesy Eggs. And Leberwurst.

She came home from Kindergarten (where they watched a puppet show in the basement and were in pitch black when the power went out in our area) to her 'Geburtstags Tisch' from Oma:

She wanted to open! but had to wait for Oma, so she pet Duchess instead.


Trying to get her to smile at least once!

This one loves Duchess too, when he gets the chance:

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06 October 2009
October!
And this year was no different. The month gets busier every year. On Thursday though? My baby girl turned four.
9/30/2007
10/01/2006

10/01/2005

Anyway, a quick post to say happy birthday to my 4-year old. Pictures of her day to follow and then we've got to wish the birthday boy a happy day too...I will be back!
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23 September 2009
Oktoberfest - just the parade this time
(these are not the big huge horses, obviously, nor a beer-wagon. Where are those pictures? No idea.)
And then we went to lunch, but we wanted to go to Pizza Hut - apparently Pizza Hut is gone. Oops. So we ended up in the Hackerhaus and it took too long. I insisted on Starbucks (thankfully, Georgia loves Starbucks as well) and we headed down the street.
Since it takes Sven hours to eat or drink anything, the kids had plenty of time to play on the big cushy chairs. They both fit in one, but wanted one each:
This was fine, until it got crowded, then we had to kick them back to the chairs around our teeny table.
A bit of force got us going back to the s-bahns and home as both kids were tired and cranky - but they loved riding on the s-bahn.
And finally we got home again.
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15 September 2009
Jack & Jill's - finally
Georgia did in fact, have such a wonderful time at J&J's yesterday, that she didn't want to go back to Kindergarten today - and to make matters harder, her little friend from Kindergarten is on vacation all week, so it was like walking in new all over again for poor Georgia. I just wanted to take her back home with me, poor thing.
Back to J&J's, she got to (finally) wear her Kyoko (and yes, I loved the one on the envelope so much, I that I copied it exactly) and she got many compliments on it and even told them that 'my mommy made it for me' - which made me smile all over.
She did not, however, want to take pictures, and our weather has gone nasty grey, so I had to pull out the flash:
And Dean, always adorable, just waking up:
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10 September 2009
Purple and Plummy
And the whole outfit, including her new shiny purple sneakers:
And a close-up of the button:
Whatever happened today, the teacher insists she is doing well, yesterday I was assured that she and another little girl had become great friends (although with girls, friendships sometimes last all of a few hours before they turn on each other, so I don't know how much I can trust that this friend will be a long-term friend!) and that it was a wonderful thing that it had happened so easily and quickly. Hm. I did ask her today if she had played with Annabel and she said she had, but she also refers to Annabel as 'the girl' until I ask her for a name, so it could also have been Annabel who took the red horsie...and unless I become a fly on the wall, I guess I'll never know.
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07 September 2009
almost two new school kids and how to break a twin needle
Dean however, did start Bunchkids this morning, so I asked both him and Georgia for pictures:





waist, pocket and button details:
vent detail:
And here's Dean, two hours after being put down for his nap, refusing to budge, even when the shades and door were opened:
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Jenna Hats

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01 September 2009
A happy preschooler!
I finished the jumper last night and told her she could wear it. We also tried it on last night, and she fussed, but she doesn't want to take it off now, and it's almost 1pm, so I guess it was a good outfit. The outfit itself was a challenge from Mom, who saw it at the fabric store and had to get it. it's New Look 6639, a cute cord jumper with a knit tee and leggings - although she only got fabric for the jumper and tee, not the leggings. The challenge, I suppose, was to work both with cord and with a knit fabric, both things I had never done. I have to say, it was beyond fun, sewing that tee, and the jumper came together quickly as well - a simple, fun pattern. It even has button holes and little flower buttons.
Georgia and I were ready around 7:30, teeth brushed, dressed and Georgia ready to bounce off the walls. It was a bit harder getting Dean out of bed...
In the end, Sven was the last one ready, so at 7:45, we headed downstairs to take pictures while waiting for him.
Finally, Sven made it downstairs with the cherry on top, her zuckertüte. This made her break out into a face-cracking grin, and sent Dean into hysterics, because he didn't get one. Thankfully, Sven was thinking ahead and brought him a bag of gummi bears to quiet him.





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30 August 2009
Someone Loves her New Pants...
Look at that smile. She did not want to take the pants off, and she got to choose the button herself. I think she's lucky to have some fun clothes that aren't the same as everyone else.
Never mind. I got around to doing two of the four pairs of pants today. I've been waiting for needles, but as it turns out, I could have done the cords a week ago, as I didn't need special needles. I just wanted to do them all in one go, since doing the same pattern four times in a row? It gets quicker and easier each time because you know what you're doing and there is no reading what to do next in between.
So the orange plaid cords have a vent and the red cords have a kick pleat. The kick pleat took forever and I worked on it too late at night and made a million mistakes. For the third pair, which is a purple pinstripe denim, I decided to forgo the pleat and the vent and just make them a pair of (boring) pants. I thought it would be okay, because they are a purple pinstripe! They actually came along brilliantly and I was doing the hemming (hemming pants is just not fun) when one of the double needles snapped. Oh no! I was trying to figure out what that had happened, while cleaning up the mess. It wasn't until I looked at the sewing machine that I realized it was my own stupid fault for not putting the needle position back to 0 after sewing a zigzag stitch.
Ah, but my stupidity continued. Firstly, I tried to finish the hem by sewing two rows of stitches with one needle. I can't sew a straight line to save my life, so of course it was a mess and I ended up spending half an hour ripping both seams out. And then I thought I'd use the other double needle, the one I had used on the cords. Yes, that needle was not meant for denim, yes, I did bend one of the needles and have to scrap another needle, my sewing machine is now clacking something awful and I ended up finishing the jeans with double sewing, trying my best to keep the seams straight. No pictures of those.
So I've ordered new needles and the jeans are going to have to wait another week. In the meantime, i did make the knit tee and except that I fear it will be too short, I really like it, and was surprised how easy and fun it was to sew.
On to the cord jumper and Georgia will be nicely outfitted for her start in preschool...
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Labels: sewing
25 August 2009
Playground Sanity
Dean, however? This is his routine: no matter whether he is first in the gate or last, Leon and Georgia always race past him and get to the swings first. The swings are the only thing Dean wants to do. However, he has finally come to terms with the fact that he cannot beat them, so he goes over to the bench, climbs up and waits for them to finish.
And this is where he stays for at least 30 minutes, if not longer.
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24 August 2009
Simplicity 2614 - this one's for me
On Friday night, I finally decided to pull out the polyester (ugh) fabric I got on sale and try my hands on the Simplicity 4097 pattern for pants. I wanted to try pants, I figured pants (especially ones with a simple side zipper and twill tape, had to be a quick project with good results, right? Of course, when I ordered the zipper-pack of surprise styles and colors, i was hoping to get a pant-size black zipper in the pack - that seemed not too much to ask, I mean a black zipper? that's basic. But of course, there wasn't one in the pack. So I when I got to the zipper insert, I went ahead and used a lavendar one instead. I also managed to sew up the left side where the zipper was meant to be inserted and had to put it in the right. I'm not sure if that's the reason I couldn't make the zipper go under the fabric or not, but I didn't care. I hemmed them as narrow as possible and was done. I think I will make them again, but longer. These pants are too short for me. But enough blah blahs. I like the pants. they're comfy. They're polyester, which I don't like, but they were cheap and look good. So there you go.
Now, all photos of me are iffy. Remember, I'm the photographer, but photographing myself? That needs work.
And on Saturday afternoon, I pulled out (finally) the threads pattern with that one blouse that I wanted to make more than any other pattern I'd bought. I had originally set it aside because I had bought the wrong size, but then I went ahead and made it in a size 14 after all. Probably, a size 16 in the length would have been better, but it's too late for that now.
So I pulled out a brown poplin cotton I got (on sale, everything on sale) and started snipping. I finished it Saturday evening and the response I got was: the sleeves don't look finished and it's crooked, isn't it? Thanks so much for the support.
you get one full-on shot of my big mug and the others will be cropped, because it's about the shirt, not my mug, right?
I used an elastic-polyester satin that slipped and slid and frayed quite a bit, but will probably be generally easier than the satin I will need to use for Georgia's Halloween costume. It was a practice run in using satin. I can't say I'm looking forward to working with it again on G's costume, especially as I realize now, this satin was a bit different than a normal one. the pin holes disappeared and I can iron on the right side and wash it.
But moving on and enough blah blahing - right? This time, I had Georgia take my picture. She needs to work on focusing...ha!
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Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog
And if I could keep up with this blog, here are some pictures you would have seen two weeks ago:
which he heard Sissy say was his, so why does Leon have it anyway?::
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07:27
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22 August 2009
And Life Goes On
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21 August 2009
Just Call Me Stupid
And this is where I get stupid, well that is, it would be if I weren't already all the time. Sven didn't want to take the detour to the post office this morning (I had already sent him on Monday with a return) and let me know it. He was not happy about it, and I felt bad because I had to get that darn stitch out and despite having an appointment for 8:30am this morning, in order to get a less-than-two-minute procedure taken care of, I sat in there until 9:15, waiting while every other person went in before me, whether they'd come in after me or not. So I'm fuming when I get home and feeling extremely bad for sticking Sven with all three kids and making him so late for work and feeling more rotten about sending him to the P.O. as well. I can't go myself with three kids, I can only transport two of them on the bike and none of them is big enough to walk. Plus, getting anywhere with Leon on foot is the very definition of patience.
So Sven took off with the box, and the knowledge that I personally, have never filled out any forms for a package to the U.S. and that well, it needed to get there yesterday.
Ten minutes later he calls me and asks me how to fill out the customs form. What? Customs form? Since when do you need to fill that out? He didn't know, didn't care, just wanted to know what the package was worth. Fine. Not five minutes later he's calling again wanting to know if the package needs to go airmail or normal. Red lights going off? Bells ringing in your head? I wish they had in my confused head. Because I was fixated on 'normal' and being typically thick and stupid.
So yes. Points for stupidity rocketing out the roof this morning, as Jessica's welcome baby gift heads out on the slow boat for America and will arrive sometime in the next SIX WEEKS.
BANGING HEAD ON DESK NOW, trying not to cry.
My other spurt of stupidity has to do with sewing (you know, that thing I can't get enough of these days, despite all the stupid mistakes I make?). I apparently cannot sew a straight line, and I especially can't because I can't cut a straight line either (admits a former paper scrapbooker). And everything I do turns out wonky. period. So if you receive a gift from me, expect wonkiness. Expect patchwork when you were supposed to be getting elegant, and try - oh try - not to be too disappointed.
I think that I should stick to digital scrapbooking and sitting quietly in my computer chair where all I have to find, is the patience not to throw my computer out the window for being so stubbornly slow.
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13:04
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Labels: daily, grumblings
19 August 2009
I can't stay away
So anyway, the hand is on the mend, despite my best efforts to hinder the healing process by not stopping with my project-pile. I spent Saturday before the E.R. with my hole-y hand in a band aid making one project, and then spent all day Sunday working on the Mermaid Dress with my stitched up hand. Turns out, that wasn't the best idea and on Monday, I had to tape my fingers together so that I would stop moving them so much.
Anyway, the Mermaid Dress:
I call it the mermaid dress because it is made out of mermaid fabric. Underwater Sisters from Heather Ross's Mendocino line for Free Spirit, which I've linked in previous posts and don't feel like doing now. The pattern is Simplicity 2677, which is a faux-wrap dress. I thought it looked cute when I bought it. Then I found the pattern reviews site and saw the mixed reviews for it and started re-thinking the whole thing. Plus, I wasn't ready to use bias tape yet. Never mind, after putting it off for weeks, I finally sat down and pulled it together, not without a little swearing, mind you. It was a very different sort of pattern from the previous dresses I'd made for Georgia, and I actually don't like how it fits her all that much, but maybe by the time she actually grows into it (I made a size 5 again, and it's loose all around), I'll like it. I do love the fabric though. Mermaids, mermaids, mermaids. *smile*
I went too fast when I made it. Let's not discuss the number of stupid, stupid mistakes I made, all for not paying attention and being short on patience. Sadly, I didn't notice one rather large mistake until she was wearing it yesterday, and I'm not sure I have the drive to fix it now. I gathered the right sleeve too much, so it poofs way out of control and is too short in the back, something only noticeable from the back, except for the poof, you can see that in the picture above.
After finishing the mermaid dress, which was a short break from another project that I put on hole (smart move, I may add) until I had more information on how to do it, I went back to that project, finished it and suddenly had a crying Georgia on my hands. She wanted it. She actually wanted something I had made, and it wasn't for her! So I promised to make her one as soon as the current one (which I can't share as it's a gift for someone who reads my blog) was finished. And so that's what we did yesterday, we made hers. She was very happy. When she saw me start cutting hers out, she said: "are you making MINE?!" "is that for ME?" and she was so overcome with emotion, she could hardly get the words out. That was sweet.
And yesterday, I was finally able to shower again, and get my hand wet, although it still is a bit sore and raw and gives me some niggling trouble, making it hard to do any serious house work (hm).
And lastly, because he is so darn cute:
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06:43
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17 August 2009
*tap tap*
until then!
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13:22
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10 August 2009
Sunbonnet Sue meets the BBQ
Even let her wear them IN THE BEDROOM::
So this dress is Simplicity pattern No. 2683 (and every time I go and look for that pattern and the number, I get distracted by about 100 other patterns that just look sooooo pretty...and this blog entry may never get written!) from the end of June, when sewingpatterns.com was having a big Simplicity sale (all patterns were $1.99) and I was in search of dresses that would be more flattering to Georgia than the standard empire waist with full skirt coming out under her arms. This was in fact, my very first pattern purchase (well, that one and 9 others) and this was before I'd even sewn one dress with Mom (naughty, I know). And then after I had purchased them and was waiting (I waited over a month for them) I started buying fabrics with those dresses in mind.
she finally spun today, the skirt has a great span::
I think I was just browsing when I discovered the Mendocino Mermaids by Heather Ross (in pink, and this will be important!) and decided Georgia needed a mermaid dress (she loves Ariel) and while grabbing that, I found this lovely sunbonnet sue small floral from Windham fabrics, and fell in love. Really. And so I pulled out the envelope backing for pattern 2683 and ordered the amount of fabric necessary. Only, I didn't order enough for lining, because I wasn't thinking ahead and didn't yet know what lining was for...When Mom got here, the fabric arrived as well and then we went lace and thread-shopping. I could not wait for that pattern to arrive. The reasons it took so long were due to understocking on sewingpattern's part, and my idiocy in having the pattern sshipped to Mom, thinking they'd arrive in time for her to bring them with her. I ended up having to wait for her to return home and ship them on to me (thanks, Mom!).
On Thursday, the envelope arrived! The pattern was here! I could get started. together, the kids and I pinned the pattern pieces to the fabric and I cut it out. I didn't actually get started on it until Friday morning, early though, and was in the midst of it when Andrea came to pick up Leon. She took the opportunity to look at the pattern and tell me what all she would NOT do (leave off the lace, not do the gathering on the sleeves, in fact, she'd do the dress that didn't have sleeves, etc.). I was back and forth on the sleeves as was anyway. They were to be lined. I didn't have lining in the first place, and had already cut up the rest of the crib sheet in order to line the bodice. I went back and forth, read reviews (no mention of sleeve lining) and asked Mom. I had decided against lining up until the moment I gathered the sleeves and realized just why they needed lining...So I squeezed a couple linings out of the very last scraps of that crib sheet. Just made it. whew. Thank goodness for large seam allowances!
The dress was finished late Friday night and ready to be worn on Saturday, which is when I realized just how dressy it is, and how perfect it would have been for Easter...Never mind. When Georgia got up Saturday, she took no notice of the dress (this new clothing thing must be getting out of hand...) and when I asked if she was going to wear it, she said: tomorrow. So I said, okay, tomorrow...after your bath (while on the way to her bath). And of course she wore it. I even convinced her to spin in it.
Anyway, the pattern was very similar to the green and red dresses from simplicity that I did with Mom, the main differences were the square neckline and the gathered, puffed sleeves. I had issues with the zipper, but otherwise it came together nicely. There is a tie and band across the front, the band was cut on the bias, which was new and fun, but I had trouble figuring out how it was attached, and had to redo it and ended up losing a bit of the gathering. I also wish that I had bought a contrasting fabric to make the ties with, but nevermind. It's done. The sunbonnet sue fabric is still lovely, but it's rather pale and forgetful, and wrinkles something awful.
What's your take on it?
And although I was against this evening activity, we did end up BBQing with Andrea, Leon and Agron. Why was I against it? Well, five straight days of Leon (two of which were full days, not just the mornings) had me so annoyed, irritated and sick of the boy, I really felt the need of a weekend off. A weekend with NO Leon. Thankfully though, he went to his grandparents today (and tomorrow) and while with his mother and father and while outside, he ended up being slightly less irritating than when trapped inside four walls alone with him...
Georgia scratching at her arms and belly.
she has some kind of awful rash or dry skin
or we don't know what that causes her to scratch until she bleeds::
Georgia has been watching the older girls at the playground swing while standing up for months now. This evening, she decided to be daring and give it a try. I looked up, and there she was, standing on the swing. I gave her the first push so she could see what it was like to swing while standing, and after that she got quite good at swinging herself and climbing off and on the swing.
A German BBQ means the men stand around one tiny BBQ and pack on as much different kinds of meat they can fit. They then proceed to stand there the whole evening and dole out portions as they are ready. It never occurs to them to get the grill piping hot, put all the meat on, and then everyone can sit down and eat together. Nor would it ever do, to have just one or two main types of meat, that would then be finished at the same time...cultural differences!
And what do we do when we've eaten so much our stomach is about to explode? Loll around on the grass, of course!
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08:28
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08 August 2009
A little Dean Lovin'
Not only that, he's hitting some major crazy milestones that make me blink in surprise on a daily basis. Ever since his sleeping schedule got back on track, my sweet boy reappeared with upgrades!
Two nights ago, while trying to put him to bed, he wouldn't stop babbling. Eventually, I realized that the babbling was not babbling at all, he was singing, and he wasn't just singing nonsense, that was a real song, with bits of melody even. Can you guess it? It went something like this:
His explosively developing language skills also blow us away. He has a big sister to model after, on who had no one herself and who has been slow in that area, so he truly surprises us daily with the amount of language he has. The other day, he was sitting on the counter, where I had left him because I couldn't carry him and make lunch. At some point, he wanted to get down, so he called: Mommy, down. Down Mommy. Mommy? Down! (I wasn't paying attention) RUNTER Mommy! Runter! Yes. He switched to German, in the hopes that I'd react. Stinker. Of course, he also says runter when he wants up, so he's obviously got work to do!
I was sitting at the computer this week and he came in to see me with a stuffed monkey. He climbed into my lap (that's another thing he's started, insisting on doing everything himself, from climbing into and out of his car seat, to clearing off his own plate and taking it to the counter). He held the monkey up to me and said: Keess, Mommy! Kees! Then held the monkey up to me. So I kissed the monkey and then he gave me a kiss. Then it started over again: Kees, Mommy! to the monkey and as soon as the monkey got a kiss, then I got one from him.
The boy can swing. I mean, he's been able to sit on the swing and be pushed since he was around 18 or so months (way to trump both Sissy and Leon!) but recently he's insisted on being pushed higher and higher: push, Mommy! MORE push! And here's where the problems come in: every single playground has two (count them, TWO) swings. Not an issue when it's just one kid, or a kid and his big sissy (who by the way, can now swing herself and it is nigh impossible to get her off a swing). However, add the babysit kid to the mix and you've got three, three kids who all want to swing on the playground where there are only two swings. And two of those three kids have longer legs and run faster. Where am I going with this? Yup, poor Dean gets left behind every time and screams bloody murder until one of the big kids gets tired of swinging and lets him have a turn.
a "GIVE ME BACK MY HAT" scream
because I removed it in an attempt to get pictures,
but it's the same face::

He's gone vehicle-crazy. AUTO! AUTO! AUTO! He still likes babies, and loves to wear clack-clack shoes, but give him an AUTO! or pass a tractor and he's in heaven. BAGGER! Noch eins! BAGGER! BAGGER! BAGGER! and of course, every airplane or helicopter that flies overhead catches his attention. Georgia likes to get in on the action too, whenenever she sees a bus, or an airplane etc., she yells: BUS, Dean!! Bus!! And because Dean get ssuch a reaction from us when he yells: Doggie! or Kitty! or Gock-gock/gockie, she tends to copy him.
Back to language, he is a bit of a copy-cat, and he's good at it. He will copy any noise he hears (if he wants to). Yesterday morning, he was standing in the kitchen when a car drove by outside and honked: BEEEP! Without a moment of hesitation, he goes: NEEEEEEEEEP! His Daddy said 'gute nacht, Dean' last night and Dean popped back with 'Nacht!'.

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08:21
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05 August 2009
the (unappreciated) sacrifice of the unicorns
Yes, I stayed up until 1am last night because yesterday, while blog-hopping, I stumbled upon the cutest skirts and had to have one for Georgia. But you know I wasn't about to shell out $40 for it, even though the one I was ogling was just absolutely gorgeous. So instead, I spent the whole day shopping for the fabric she used, thinking I am smart enough to figure out how to make that skirt myself. Which just means, when all was said and done, I spent much more than $40 that would have given me a lovely skirt on various different fabric stores, because when you start searching for one thing, you get distracted by 10 other gorgeous things and you think: 1., I'm building my stash and 2., well I'm babysitting and earning a teeny bit of money, let's BLOW it!
So this is what happened: while looking for that specific material to make that specific skirt, I actually happened upon the pattern she might have originally used to create her very first darling flirty skirt. And I bought it. And then, after I was all finished with my other purchases, I happily downloaded (because it was a downloadable tutorial, no waiting for the mail!) the pattern and started envisioning Gerogia's very own apron skirt.
I ended up using my unicorn fabric (but I'll let you in on a secret, I ordered a whole new yard of it yesterday....) and pairing it with an orange polka and then recycled more of that old pillowcase to make the apron. Yes, I envisioned this skirt diferently. No, it doesn't really look like a Gock's Frock flirty skirt, yes, it's too long, the apron is too long, for some reason, the width of 60" does not work at all on Georgia as the elastic cinches the waist way too tight, and yes, I am all ready to sit down and try the whole project again with alterations. The one good thing about this skirt is that it is huge and will fit her for another 2-3 years I'd say, maybe longer than that even, if I were to remove the current elastic and insert a new, longer piece.
Enter babysitting. I spent all morning at the playground, made lunch and then started laundry and got Dean down for a nap. No time to play. However, I did get a package, a package that cost me nearly $40 to ship and then got taxed in customs for another $30! sheesh.
Anyway, that package contained my first bits of Christmas presents, and I got all excited to sit down and start laying things out when I remembered I have to wash, dry and iron it all first. Bummer. That would be the reason I was doing laundry today (even though it's Wednesday!). And then I sat down and looked at the pattern requirements and realized that I needed not just ANY interfacing, but a specific firm, heavyweight interfacing that I couldn't get just anywhere and so ended up internet-searching a supplier in Germany instead of editing the pictures of the unicorn-skirt. But the worst thing that happened, was when I held all four fabrics together in the daylight and realized that one of them didn't match the others. Noooo! So yes, more internet shopping this evening with a frantic note to the shop owner asking whether the fabric I was ordering matched the fabrics I already owned and if not, please suggest? She insists they match perfectly, I'm having to trust her and just wish I could shop for lovely fabric in person whenever I wanted...
And in between that shopping spree (which was quite modest in comparison to yesterday) and cleaning up from lunch, we all biked (yes, biked) to Andrea's for a slightly harried, stressful few hours at their place for a change. The point of the ride being that I needed to bike it at some point to get a feel for the way and the time it would need and could therefore some day come visit without Andrea leading me (or driving me!). It worked. The ride isn't too long, isn't too stressful and as long as it's a lovely summer afternoon and not a frigid winter morning, I'm happy to make the ride.
And now finally, hours and hours later, here are the photos (such as they are) of a very unwilling Georgia. She loves horses, but hasn't discovered the magic of unicorns yet, so the unicorn fabric held absolutely ZERO appeal. She saw the skirt this morning and said: I WANT PINK! I have yet to make her something pink (bad Mommy). It took some force to put the skirt on her, she refused to model it, twirl it (and it's got soooo much width for twirling!) or like it in any way. So much for making her a fabulous, flirty, twirly, magical UNICORN skirt...
but she downright refused to twirl::
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at
13:33
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Labels: sewing
02 August 2009
Smocked (ahem, shirred actually) Sundress

::I think I have the cutest model,
some people cut off heads and faces to show off the outfit better,
but personally, that little face is all I want to see anyway::
Then I ran into a blog post about Heather Ross on the Martha Stewart show. I ran straight over and had a peak - even though I didn't know what it was about. What do you know? It was how to make a smocked sundress. That was it. I had to sit down and finally do it. Only you know I didn't. I couldn't have that yummy Liberty of London fabric and started seriously debating on using the Mermaid fabric, thanks to Martha Stewart GIVING everyone on the show a yard of Mendocino fabric in order to make their own smocked sundress! But I held off. I had the mermaid material for a different dress, and I'd stick to it. I'd even purposely bought more than a yard. So no point in wasting the extra for a dress that needed less than a yard.
Pooh.
Then Mom and I found some yummy lime green fabric with white polka dots. I thought that might be fun to make the smocked top (yes, by this time, I was planning on a top for Georgia, not a dress), but wasn't sure I wanted to use it on that, or maybe use it on a sundress pattern that Mom had brought...Well, I pulled out that pattern today (Saturday) and realized that it was reversible. And in order to make it, I'd need to get additional fabric and couldn't start a new project until I had additional fabric. Strike.
I spent most of the day moping because I wanted to try something, but nothing wanted me to try it. Finally, about five minutes before Sven and the kids came up from the backyard, I decided to iron that fabric and just start playing with the elastic. I re-watched the Heather Ross video, re-read the Kuky Ideas tutorial, measured Georgia's chest and once everyone was in bed and asleep, I got busy.
Guess what? I finished in under two hours. The straps took the longest. Of course, I write this late at night, Georgia has not tried it on, so it may not fit her, I'm not sure the straps are put on evenly and the shirring in the first two rows is nearly non-existant thanks to bobbin tension issues (as in, I had to figure out what tension was going to give me shirring and I turned it way too loose at first). However, it's cute. I'd like to try it again. Someday. When I have more elastic thread. One girl's top used quite a bit!
And because I wrote the previous bit last night, before Georgia woke up, I get to tell what happened this morning when she did. Firstly, I have a brat for a daughter, as in, she's spoiled and has now received so many new clothes in her life, handmade or store bought, that she no longer gets excited about the ones she does get. Hm, maybe I need to try that applique thing and make something with Cinderella on it to get her excited again.
So this morning: she refused to try the "top" on, she wanted to keep her pj's on. When I finally convinced her to try it on, she wanted it off immediately. I agreed, after I had marked where I thought the straps should go, because along with the badly shirred first two rows (which made the top flip over under her armpits), the front straps were under her arms instead of in front of her arms.
So I took it off, marked where I thought the straps might should go and then started pulling up the elastic in the first row with my seam ripper, carefully. It wasn't until I started pulling harder in order to tie knots (yes, lots of knots on the first inside row now) that I pulled the last bit of elastic totally OUT and had to re-sew. Oops.
And I did fight her to try it on one more time. She fussed and squirmed and took it off again. That was okay though, I still had straps to sew on, I was just checking the new shirring. When it was finished though, I put it on her, tied it and that was that. No more fussing. She's wearing it now and I have to say, big pat on the back, even Sven is impressed with the shirring. He said: you had to do this part too? As if I hadn't done it all last night with him in the room, and even had him get off the couch and hold the smock tight while I iron-shrunk the elastic! But never mind, a compliment is a compliment, and if Sven bothers to give me one, I'll take it!
Oh, and the last thing worth mentioning? See if you can figure it out. Remember, I had intended to sew Georgia a top. Obviously I have no eye for how tall she is.

::front shot - she wasn't actually cooperating with picture-taking,
she was ignoring me. I did my best::
And now off to shower, make beds and start lunch because I picked up some (fresh) chanterelle mushrooms at Aldi yesterday and some semmelknödel at Lidl for pfifferlinge in rahmsoße...And that means, this is probably the end to the productive-streak. Yesterday? I scrapped, I blogged, I sewed and I sat in the kiddie pool and played with the kids. Of course, I didn't do much cooking and absolutely no cleaning, but it was still a pretty productive day, wouldn't you say? We'll see what today holds.
written by
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at
10:04
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Labels: sewing
01 August 2009
Just what does she do with all those photos?
Well, in all honestly, they mostly just gather pixel dust in two different places on two different hard drives. But sometimes, I really do open up Photoshop and create. That's what I did today, after fighting the computer for the past week to get it back up to speeds that will allow me to use photoshop without tearing out all my hair...and after even more procrastination in the form of window-shopping....and then some frustration when I pulled out some bits here and there in an attempt to maybe start a new sewing project, only to realize that 1., I don't want a pleated purse with ikea birds on it, 2., i can't bear to cut into my Heather Ross Far Far Away Unicorn fabric (I have just barely half a yard of the lime) just yet, 3., I need another fabric for the lime green polka fabric if I'm going to use Mom's sundress pattern because it's a REVERSIBLE pattern, 4., the cheap ikea fabric with birds all over it is too thin after all, to make into a wrap skirt.
Anyway. So it's not fabulous, but it's a layout, and that's saying something considering my scrap-rate the past three months.
So yes, this is what she does with all those photos:
written by
zauber-a
at
16:50
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Labels: scrapbooking
30 July 2009
No Rest for the Weary: Another Afternoon in Munich
We arrived home from Legoland sometime around 10pm. So late, Georgia didn't even brush her teeth before falling into bed and sleeping. The next day however, we were up and off again. We went into Munich and the Englischer Garten, because Mom had suggested we go to the Chinesische Turm and see the surfers on the Isar. I inserted a trip to Starbucks and we were off.
Turns out, there really is a playground at the Biergarten. The things you don't realize when you don't have kids!
So while we ate terribly expensive, tasteless food from the biergarten (a bit of planning might have aided us on this day, as we could have brought a picnic...), the kids played on the playground and Georgia hinged herself to another little german-american girl named Lily. Seriously, Georgia was so enamored with Lily, that she spent the rest of the day (after we'd all gone different ways) sadly saying: I lost Lily...Lily was playing on the playground and was sweet and friendly and possibly a tad bit older than Georgia. Lily's mother was German and her father was American - they live in America and were visiting.

::Georgia was unbelievably proud of herself for climbing up this ladder -
in the last picture, Lily is the one all the way at the top in the green shirt::

::Dean was totally digging hanging by his knees from the bar, Georgia refused to try::

::Georgia and Dean had to fight for their chance to sit on this see-saw the first time::

::The second time, Georgia wanted to go on the frog and Lily came running after saying
she wanted to go on it as well - good thing there was space for four kids on this see-saw!::
Georgia and Lily took off for the Tower when the music started and then Lily had to go back, as she had no shoes on. Georgia followed miserably after, not understanding where LIly had gone, and we perked her up with a ride on the carousel - again, I never knew there was a carousel at the Chinesische Turm!
"A children's carousel was put up near the tower in 1823, similar in design to the current one. By 1912 a replacement was needed, which is still in use. It was designed by the Schwabinger sculptor Joseph Erlacher and the decoration painter August Julier. Alongside the usual horses, the carousel has less expected creatures to ride, such as ibex, stork and flamingo.[34] Its wooden roof and pillars were restored from 1979 to 1980.[35]"
but she got as close as she could::
On the way to the Wittelsbacherbrücke, we saw tight-rope walkers, the Monopteros, crazy people crossing the Isar at a spot with a very rapid current, any number of dogs, FKK sun bathers, normal bathers actually freezing their limbs in the bitty river, drummers, and finally the surfers themselves.
And then we finally, finally made it to the Wittelsbacherbrücke, with much mishap and mayhem, and a little girl who ended up sitting in the stroller because walking so far with nothing exciting to look forward to was too much for her. And so the first thing I have to share is the sign put up below the bridge:

::waiting patiently::
I think pictures of my own cutie watching those surfers are more fun anyway:
And then we finally moved on through the Hofgarten, where Georgia was entranced by the pretty flowers, the games of botchy-ball and most of all, the quintet playing up front. She stood and listened through three pieces and even tossed money into the case. She was upset when they took a break and begged to stay longer so she could hear more...
before seeing the 2nd of four identical fountains and taking off again::
We finally made it to Odeonsplatz and Starbucks. Only Mr. Dean missed out because he conked out somewhere between watching the surfers and listening to a classical quintet in the Hofgarten.
back to where we started and the car::
written by
zauber-a
at
14:03
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Bunchkids comes to an End - for Georgia
Although neither Cathy, nor Louise realized it was Georgia's last day, they weren't too sad about it because Dean will continue to come to BK and so they are bound to see Georgia off and on throughout the next year. In other words, it wasn't 100% goodbye, not yet.
As of September, Georgia will be going one day a week to Jack & Jill's - an English speaking preschool, and 4 days a week to the German Kindergarten down the street (but only for 4 hours). She's growing so fast...
written by
zauber-a
at
09:11
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29 July 2009
Legoland Deutschland
This was both my favorite day of Grandma's whole visit and the best July 23rd in six years. It felt so good to spend Zane's birthday doing something we knew he would have enjoyed, and that his brother and sister also enjoyed. I've just not felt so happy and good on the 23rd since he was born.
The day almost didn't happen, however. Georgia woke up with some sort of stomach-ache. She was fine until she started eating her breakfast and then she sort of withered. She spent a good hour or more lying on her stomach, or slouched on the couch. So although we meant to get an early 8am start, in the hopes of being at Legoland shortly after it opened, we didn't make it until closer to 10am, and we arrived around 11:30am in the glaringly hot sunshine.
It took both Georgia and Dean some time to realize just what Legoland was and what the point of it was. The first thing we saw, were boats and a huge long line to get on one. We steered Georgia away from them and onto an airplane ride.
Of course, Georgia wanted to go again when she saw Dean on the planes, so I took her in line and Grandma and Dean ran back again after their ride was over. Both kids got to go twice. Maybe we should have gone more than twice. There was not much of a line, and it was one of the few that Dean could do (although Mom had to fight to get him on, poor guy was old enough for the rides, just not big enough. So he'd be told he couldn't, and he'd get upset - can you blame him?).
Eventually, we moved on and on. We went into the Legoland Factory and watched how legos are made - but the kids found it boring and it was hard to maneuver the stroller in there. Then we had lunch and our birthday cupcakes before moving on.
- then again, it was a serious moment::
At some point we went on the little train that runs all around Legoland and finally saw just what all we could do. From the train, we saw the lego horses and decided we needed to go to the land of knights. Here is where I have to tell you that Grandma and I took off and abandoned the kids and Sven because we saw that there was hardly any line for the Feuerdrache and we both wanted to do a fun roller coaster.
When we were up in line in the castle, we looked down and got Georgia's attention. She cried because we hadn't taken her with us and we had to explain to her that she wouldn't have wanted to go on that roller coaster, it was too fast and scary. So we convinced her that she wanted to ride on the lego horses.
And convincing is the key-word here, because she had to ride on it by herself. No parents aloud. It took some talking, but eventually she climbed on and went all the way around by herself. When she got off, she said that she was "scared of the peoples". Later we passed by the spot she meant. There was a lego man hanging from a sign, and when the horse and lance went by, he yelled: oh no! not again! and spun around in a circle. She pointed and said that that was the peoples she was scared of. Brave girl. I never imagined it could truly be scary to go around in a big circle on a slowly moving mechanical horse!
After the horse-ride, we found a roller coaster that Georgia could do with Daddy. They waited in a very long line:
especially considering how long she had to wait in line before she got to ride::
and then Sven sat on the outside of the car and so I have no shots of Georgia on her very first rollercoaster.
And poor Dean? He couldn't do the horse, he wasn't allowed to do the roller coaster and he was getting tired and upset. So he got an ice cream, that he refused to share with Grandma at all.
Georgia had to have an ice cream when she saw Dean's, so we spent a while slurping ice creams before we finally moved on. Not very far though. Sven got caught up in the hands on building area, and while he and Dean played with Duplos, Georgia discovered a water-spitting dinosaur. This might possibly have been her most favorite part of the day:
It basically went like this; when this guy started talking...
then this guy squirted water in the air:
Even Grandma, who didn't know what was being said, knew that when the first guy started talking, that the water was on its way and so she'd say to Georgia: get ready...are you ready?
GOOOOOO!
Later, we walked by the water-squirting dino again and Georgia waited and waited and waited, but no water came. He had been turned off, much to her disappointment.
We finally moved away from that dinosaur and headed to the Aussichtsturm, because everyone could do that together. We left the stroller behind, got in line and were off.
While we were inside, going up, we saw even more of the park, like the huge water playground and the water roller coaster in adventure land. The minute we got off the tower, we steered everyone toward the water and then we told Sven that we were running off to the water roller coaster. He admitted that he didn't want to go because while we were in the tower-ride, the weather had started cooling off and he didn't want to get wet with a breeze - silly German!
So we left the kids and Sven to play while we went on to the water coaster. It started out nicely enough. We had a bit of a wait and watched while everyone came off soaking wet, and giggled. Then we got on the ride and it started up. It went in a very dark cave, up slowly with bats and spiders all around us and we thought: well Georgia would hate this! and then in the near pitch-black, the car stopped, turned around and we plunged down backwards, hit the water and got soaked! That was the biggest surprise. Then we floated around, seeing lost-world sights of dinosaurs who spit at us:
before getting to the base of the last hill climb when the whole ride stopped. Totally. no movement, nothing for about ten minutes due to some sort of emergency stop. It was a total bummer, all the build-up to the last big plunge was lost as we waited and waited, finalyl got going only to climb up and plunge down and it was over. Oh well.
While we were doing that, the kids were playing and getting wet as well:
And then we came back, had a short break, watched the sky getting darker and decided to run back to Adventure Land for the rides there. In fact, I wish we'd started in this area, it had more rides for both kids and was just generally more fun.
Oh, but first the kids and Sven jumped on the kiddie train:
In Adventure Land, Georgia and Dean got to do the canoe ride, both entirely by themselves!
but of course we had to run to one more ride before dashing for cover::
found Dean and his whole face broke out in a smile -
she can always get him to smile!::
Yes, we did run on to the safari-car ride after that. It was so fast though, I had no time to take pictures while on it, and was too busy making sure Dean didn't fall out to take them anyway. Even the pictures Grandma took of us on the ride turned out blurred. It's a good thing though, that it went fast, it gave us time to ride it, and then jump out and dash for cover before the downpour hit us. We stayed dry:
After the rain stopped, the sun did come out again and we thought we'd run and do the pedal cars. We had hardly a wait, but when we got ready to get in, the woman barked at us first, that Grandma couldn't come too, and then that Dean was too small and to get off. So Grandma took our place, and an upset Dean and an upset Mommy went back downstairs and played with Duplos. By the time they got back from the pedal cars (where Georgia was upset at our having not come with), the sky had once again darkened and the next downpour had started. This one did not let up, so we eventually stripped down and ran through the rain, which eventually let up enough for us to shiver our way through Miniland - but not enough for us to want to pull out the cameras, and then we headed home.
written by
zauber-a
at
12:13
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Red Pants
So Grandma had to leave early yesterday morning. Early is an understatement. My eloquent sister would refer to the time we left as the BCOD, and she'd be correct. The flight from Munich to Frankfurt was at 6:10am. Boarding was at 5:40am and Grandma had to be checked into her flight no later than 5:30am. So you know we were there at 4:30am, which meant Grandma was up at 2:30am and showering. Anyway. it was early.
We came home and went to bed, although we had to fight Dean to sleep, as he had slept on the way over and the way back. But sleep we eventually did. And then w got up, had blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup and Sven took off with the kids to get new tires for my bike and I got started on that kimono-style bathrobe from the Amy Butler In Stitches book. That was a huge disaster. The robe has many small defects, thanks to me not being careful, but the major defect is the fact that I made a size large, and it swallows me whole. According to the measurements, a size large should have fit me...and I wanted to go too large rather than too small. In other words, I was too chicken to make a medium. It was a fast sew. We laid it out and cut it out on Monday night. Ahem. I did. Do you want to know how Grandma helps teach you to sew?
Me, sitting on the floor, up to my ears in three meters of light cotton fabric that will not lay flat, fussing and complaining that this is too big, and that's not long enough, and why won't this WORK?
Mom, sitting on the couch with laptop in lap, playing her facebook farm game responds like this:
sure, i'll harvest your farm! hey, get out of there, that's mine! I want that one. ooh, you don't get much for strawberries....
Five minutes after I've gotten up in frustration, walked away and come back, she looks up and says brightly: almost finished?!
She did play that farm game during every one of my projects, but to be fair, at the beginning, when I had no idea what I was doing, she did put it down and help. And just sitting there while I grumble is boring. So she kept herself busy...
Anyway. The robe was laid out and pinned together Monday night and I was able to sew it from beginning to end on Tuesday. It was a million very long straight seams that went on forever, so I tended to hit the pedal too hard and break my bobbin thread too often. And I had the stupid bobbin wound wrong as well, so there were many tension problems. Never mind. The robe is finished. It is too big and therefore I am not sharing a picture. Unless I figure out how to take it in.
After the robe was finished, I did manage to finish up Georgia's red pants. And that was a much happier event. And those are photos I can even share. You see, the red pants were originally planned to go with the Very Hungry Caterpillar top, but I didn't get them finished in time for her to wear them together last week. The pants are from another of Mom's old patterns, Butterick this time. They are a simple elastic waist and belled bottoms. However, they are a size 6. Georgia is not yet 4, and although a size 4 is too short, a size 5 is still too long. So the pants were going to be too big from the get-go. Then of course, I forgot to take crotch-length into account and they were even longer. So when we tried them on her, they went up to her arm pits, and pooled at her feet.
"Too big for me," she said.
So yesterday, I shortened them, put in the waistband and hemmed them up about three or four inches - I couldn't bring myself to cut off the length, maybe some day I can let them down...so instead of flashy bell bottoms, she's got a pair of very loose, wide-leg pants.
I put them on her this morning, with the top for her very last day EVER at Bunchkids, and she very unwillingly, let me take some pictures:
she pulled up the pants herself::
As for the day without Grandma: it sucked. Georgia nearly cried all the way back to the car. She kept saying in her little pathetic voice: I want Grandma. I want to ride the plane. I want Grandma. I want Grandma. And this made me choke up until I could say nothing but: me too, baby.
She asked for Grandma off and on all day long, and even mentioned her this morning when I told her she had to put on sun block. Something about Grandma having already put it on her...but it will be good to get the kids back on a semi-normal schedule. I can't handle another night of unsettled screaming from an over-tired Dean with bags under his eyes!
written by
zauber-a
at
08:42
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Labels: sewing
24 July 2009
little red sundress & the very hungry caterpillar
Despite liking this dress much better (because I think it is better-made), I had to con Georgia into wearing it by telling her it was Grandma's dress and Georgia couldn't have it, or wear it. Thankfully, that worked and I got her to wear it to Arthur's birthday party later that afternoon. Not realizing just how hot it was outside, I paired it with a short white sweater and let her wear her Easter shoes. I knew better than to make her pose in the dress, so I don't have fabulous shots of the dress-details.
Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric::
This top has no bodice, so I had to learn to do front and armhole facing, understitching and slip stitching. Plus, the lining up thing. If you look at the back of the top, you'll see where I made the mistake. I should have cut out the back pieces next to each other on the fabric, instead of folding the fabric. Then I could have made sure that the pattern on the fabric was uninterrupted from side to side. Oh well. I learn a bit each time, and that's what matters, right?
What I did:
- learned what understitching is, and how to do it
- sewed godet inserts
- sewed/made bows
- shortened a zipper by using a whip stitch
- learned a new way to insert a zipper - without an overlap
- sewed armhole and neck facing
- slipstitched so that the seam is nearly invisible (still working on that trick)
- learned how to line things up properly, even though I didn't actually accomplish it
written by
zauber-a
at
21:26
5
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