When Multitasking Makes You A Jerk

Guess WHOOOOOOO's turning 5?

The theme of the party is owls, her favorite bird!

Sometimes I am just so darn efficient. Yesterday, upon returning home with just one boy (the other two were having dinner elsewhere), I was juggling several things: the mail, my multiple bags, etc. The Little Magpie spotted something I would have put in the recycling right away: a Sesame Street activity pack promotional thing, lots of bright glossy pictures, Elmo, etc. He hopped right into a chair to examine "his" mail, while I got started on dinner.

she and Syvan correspond, so this seemed perfect

Are you able to spell with accuracy while sauteeing vegetables for soup, make a wholesome and attractive meal, set a beautiful table, manage an unbelievably splitting headache, and balance a cold pack on your head while doing the former? I was not only spelling out the words and numbers of our address, somewhat distractedly, but also providing visual reminders of what certain letters look like. ("D is like a straight line with a half moon attached to it...W is like an upside down mountain...") This is the type of spelling bee that would get really interesting and I am sure that many mothers would excel at! (I am sorry dads, but we do know that you are not that great at multitasking but really rock at hunting wooly mammoths and playing basketball.)

she is also a button-collector,

so here is a nice vintage one that looks like an owl's eye

Later, it came to our attention that Sylvan was writing his address, name, and phone number down so he could stuff it into an envelope to reply: "YES! Please send me the Sesame Street Activity pack for $3.50 and sell my name to lots of other companies so we will receive a lot more junk mail!!!!" (Oh, junk is in the eye of the beholder, I know.)

a pattern from my birthday gift from Poppie,

Amanda Blake Soule's A Handmade Home

It was so adorable to see his enthusiasm and diligence at all that writing, and his absolute certainty that the $3.50 would be worth it. And I had totally missed all this while it was happening only a few feet away from me, because I was so intent on my pain and my plan for the meal and the evening.

interior fabric so fun, like buttons,

from (where else?) Alewives Fabrics!

I am not beating myself up about it because there are so many many many moments like these, that I am sure I will catch the next one, and maybe miss the two after that, and hopefully catch some more in the future. (Michael Chabon, oh, another geeky librarian crush, writes of this phenomenon in his latest book, Manhood for Amateurs). Was dinner that important that I couldn't stop for 5 minutes? Was my headache so awful that I couldn't show some interest in Sylvan's agenda? Actually, it really was, but still.

looks as though he's in a stiff wind

And because I do have a FEW male readers, though I suspect they are all related to me, I will mix this post up with some pics of our own Chia Obama! Picture me singing this song (just the first part of the video) to the words of "chiOBAAAAAMA" when I greet our president each morning.

I was not the one responsible for the above,

I will have you know

a little male-pattern baldness

and look at how that ear hair is coming in!

Some sewing, some cooking

Finally, some sewing! Inspired by A Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule, I made Mama's Bag for myself. The size is perfect, just right for a little knitting project, wallet, phone, small notebook or book. Amanda has a great "use what you have" philosophy, and I happened to have this adorable, softest, fine-wale corduroy in my stash for the exterior. The lining material was pretty sweet---new, I admit, from Alewives.

Here's the thing though. I realized that the photo pictured in the book was not going to match the dimensions of fabric that SouleMama had listed (what's the deal with that?!). This is a big sewing milestone for me! And I wanted the bag in the picture. So I had to figure out how to get it. I adjusted the pleat size and the bag's height and came out with something pretty close. Yay, me!

And while at Alewives, I got some new fabric for some little pajama pants that didn't end up working out. I had the little dimensions for a round-tummied 3 year-old girl, but without the girl at hand to really visualize, it just seemed so crazy to be looking at a 14" inseam and a 20" waist. So I will make them again, in this fabric, for the tiny girl who ran into my arms the other day upon seeing me. This time I will consult a pattern (not of my own making, thank you very much) and they will be perfect.

bobbin case and thread stand, at last!

Dinner was delicious in the making and the eating:

That is a pan full of sunshine sweetness dressed in oil, balsamic, salt/pepper, and garlic, shortly to be roasted and tossed with pasta and basil and parmesan. An easy dinner that tastes delicious that everyone eats!

In other news: the new rhythm is emerging, now that the boys are in school again. My school work can be relegated to daytimes, when I am not at work, so I don't have to grouch and grump at nights and snarl at my husband. Fall is in the air today, still warm but with a nice swishy-in-the-trees wind. I have a new work schedule that includes not working every Saturday, just one Saturday per month! Hooray! We are going to The Fair this weekend, the older boys will be there on Friday, but we will go as a family on Sunday. Because I want to see this band live (turn on your computer's speakers before clicking)!