February Reading List

February

9.18 - Half Yard Heaven - Debbie Shore (2/27) - library - 4 stars
8.17 - More Scary Stories - Alvin Schwatrz (2/20) - library - 4 stars
7.16 - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Alvin Schwartz (2/20)- library - 4 stars
6.15 - The Book of Bags - Cheryl Owen (2/20) library - 3 stars
5.14 - Sewing for Kids - Alice Butcher (2/20) library - 4 stars
4.13 - Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire (2/20) library - 4 stars
3.12 - The Barefoot Bandit - Bob Friel (2/19) library - 2 stars
2.11 - One Zentangle A Day - Beckah Krahula (2/9) library - 5 stars
1.10 - The Secret Hour - Scott Westerfeld (2/3) library - 4 stars^

i'm recording backwards this year. so the bottom of the list was read earliest in the month.

The Secret Hour - pretty good, YA fiction, will not continue the series.
Zentangle a Day - Very good, learned a lot, if you're interested in Zentangle, this is a great start
Barefoot Bandit - book club, TLDR, non-fiction about a kid thief, looked it up on wiki
Rosemary and Rue - it was..ok, not really memorable, won't continue the series
Sewing for kids - couple cute projected kae wanted to do, she made a pillow from the book
Book of Bags - way too complicated for a beginner seamstress.
Scary Stores 1 & 2 - hahahahahahhahahahahaahaahaha
Half Yard Heaven - Liked it, cute projects, made a tea cozy.

I read A LOT of non-fiction this month. but didn't really love all the books i read. hopefully march will be happier

i'm 2 books ahead of schedule for my 100 for the year.

Sewing ...for Kaeley

Since I've been using my sewing machine, kae has been begging me to teach her to sew. 

While I was picking out fabric for more harem pants today I let her pick a couple fat quarters to make a pillow. That's a good easy first project.

She first learned how much pinning sucks.

Then she learned how to follow a straight line.

And it became a hot pink leopard print pillow for her bed. 

Sewing...for me

I'm currently working on a gwazee coat for Renn fair. It's the simplicity pattern 2159. 

It's ridiculously complicated for a very first project.

I used a cotton for my coat, instead of the heavier fabric it calls for. I wasn't going to put in a lining, but then decided I didn't want it to look unfinished. So I cannibalized a sheet for my lining. Call me Scarlett.

First time putting in interfacing.

First time seeing darts...I hope I never do this again (o.m.g.)

My mom helped me pin the lining to the outside to do the final stitching. I'll post a pic when it's done.

Ps! I made harem pants!

This is only a test

 My little bubba, Connor, will be 3 in just a couple weeks (2/22). He's getting so big, so fast ::sigh::

When you ask him what he wants for his birthday, the answers are pretty simple. He wants Pixar Planes, and the second one, Fire and Rescue. He wants cars, all the cars. And he wants a new baby.

This is his old baby. It's huge and bulky, and has a slot in its back for a Wii remote. It's the baby from "Babysitting Mama", and technically it's Kae's. (He and baby are watching Teen Titans)

This baby watches tv with him, plays cars and trains, eats meals, and cuddles after bath time. He loves it.

So I decided that for his birthday, we'd get him a new baby. I knew the grandparents probably wouldn't. And my friends, while progressive, aren't going to drop $30 on a doll.

So we went to that bastion of everything: Walmart (I needed milk too lol)

The trip started really well! We hit the toy aisle and found a few little baby sets, I couldn't find alllll the baby dolls, but I wasn't worried. 

The nice lady who was stocking shelves helped me out when I asked her, "do you have any BOY babies?" 

Turns out they had exactly one. One cabbage patch kid named Conner (o.m.g. It looks just like my Connor too!!!)

Buddy was so happy! 

He sat in the cart while I picked up the

rest of our stuff, talking to his new friend. Telling Conner all about their cars and trains, and bath time. 

My son stays home with me. He doesn't spend a lot of time with other kids except his sister. You might think it's sad that this doll is his new friend. But I don't. I see my 3 year old who's excited to share with new "people". 

The first test came from the young tattooed mom in the chef boyardee are. 

Connor: this is my new baby!

Lady: really...(looks at me) is he?..

Me: what? Going to be a daddy someday?

Lady: oh! I guess you're right ::nervous laugh::

Really? He's broken because he wants a doll? Whatever lady. 

The last two tests of patience happened in the checkout line. 

A little old lady tried to tell connor he wanted a bike instead (which he does anyway). But he would not be put off "this is MY new baby"

And the other was the cashier. A woman of about 40. 

Connor: can I have my baby please?

(She'd put it on the bag spinner, so I put it into the cart)

Cashier: oh is it for your sister?

Connor: no! Is my new baby!

Me: yes bubba, this is for your birthday!

Don't push me lady.

I was pretty sure her eyes were going to pop out of her head. 

I am not a crazy crunchy mom. We don't really go out of our way to force gender neutral toys. But I'm a firm believer that all toys are gender neutral anyway. My daughter likes dinosaurs, my son likes dolls. 

This.is.ok.

My kids will not catch the gay from toys. If they turn out gay, they were born that way, and I will love them no matter what.