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Magic Lives Here

I know that there are more and more parents these days who are reluctant to play up Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. I've even read that people refer to it as lying. Well they should avoid my house. Because Santa et al are all welcome here and they should bring along their other friends the fairies, wood-sprites and Man in the Moon.

My grandparents gave me a magic genie lantern when I was 5 years old. You may have seen it on my mantle. It's the oldest thing I own. And on special occasions we would hear it rattle in the other room. I'd run down their pink carpeted hallway and sure enough...the genie would have left me something. Not necessarily a toy, but always something special or unique. Often it would be left in the open hands of their Buddha statue. I can remember everything about the moment I received a handful of polished stones from the Magic Genie Lantern. How had these beautiful stones whizzed through time and space to me of all people? It was treasure. Magic meant that anything is possible.

Lucia and I went to the reservation last week into the woods to build a fairy house. I watched her diligently gather sticks, pile up rocks, yank up moss and create a cozy nook for the fairies to live in. She ran around and found 12 acorns that she turned into miniature cups. The final touch was a leaf for their bed.

And on Easter morning (after finding all the big guy had left for us including the chewed up remains of a very large bunch of carrots) she wanted to take the whole family back to the woods to visit her house. So we did. And when we found it, the cups had been moved. Proof!

I hope she remembers that moment the rest of her life.

When Mommy says no....

Lucia has officially  hit the stage in life where she knows what she wants and it's generally what other kids have and I refuse to buy.  She has come home from camp everyday this week asking for Jibbitz.  I had a vague idea of what they are but pretty much said no and ignored her pleas.

Yesterday morning she came down and showed me these.

My clever, sweet girl.

Unfinished business

Today was going to be a catch up day.  For the first time in almost a year, I had a Wednesday off, a sitter for the kids and a chance to be at home and catch up on whatever I wanted.

(unfinished scarf, computer room)

Industriously, I decided to work in the morning and do some computer stuff like order business cards and create a ad.  That actually passes for fun these days.  And as a reward, I would do something indulgent and for me all afternoon.  Sew or knit or read a book.  Alone. No interruptions.

(unfinished baby hat, family room)

And of course the phone rang.  It was my daughter's camp.  She had shoved a bead up her nose and they couldn't find it.  Yes, she is that kid.  A tiny, pink bead no less.  The exact color of the inside of her nostril.  Not so bad.  I could run, take her to Dr. Cotler's and drop her back at camp spit, spot, hurry, hurry.  Maybe finish Toby's pajamas.

(unfinished baseball pj's for Toby, sewing room)

No such luck.  Dr. Cotler was out of the office and I could visit the sub at 2:45.  In the meantime I could try and blow it out of her nose.  This fun exercise involved me holding one nostril shut, covering her mouth with mine and blowing hard in order to shoot the bead out of her other nostril.  We did this sporadically with no luck.

(unfinished collage, bedroom)

At the appointment, the doctor couldn't find the bead.  Maybe she had swallowed it.  Or maybe it was lodged in her sinus cavity where it could become infected.   The doctor wanted me to take her to the ER.  She must have seen my look of despair, because she called several ENT's until she found one that could see me. So off we went to Dr. Levitt located strategically across from St. Barnabas.  At least if I needed xrays we were right next door.  My daughter moaned about the bead in her nose.  I tried to feel more sympathetic. So into the crowded room we went.  After a bit we saw the doctor.  And you know of course what happened.  There was no bead.

(unfinished human, family room)

We came home at 5:30.  Just in time to make dinner. 

Our 4th of July

Hope yours was fun too!

Catching up

My step-daughter visited all last week and we crammed a lot in!  Lucia and Toby adore their big sister!  We went to Great Adventure, visited Grandpa, and took Haley to a taping of the MTV Show TRL where she met Sandra Bullock and got more than her share of camera time.  Daddy pulled a few strings!
We also stopped by the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn and bought some goodies.  It was so, so cool!  I kept wondering if you any of  you were in the crowd!

Not a lot of crafting happening here, but I snuck these in this weekend.  I made a set of those glass magnets that pop up  a lot, using a vintage greeting card.

They came out great.  Better than I thought they would.  This was a just a quick test set, but I see a lot of small Christmas gifts coming!

And look at this cute shelf I got at an estate sale this weekend.  It was grimy, but it cleaned up like new using Borax.  I swear this stuff is great.  It gently cleans pottery, china and all sorts of grimy garage sale finds.  If you thrift at all, you need this stuff!!

It didn't harm the delicate paint on this at all.  I also use it on painted wood surfaces.  I swear I could do a commercial.  More uses here.  Sorry for the random post, but it happens!

Happy Mother's Day!

My nice husband let me sleep in late this morning (late being 8:00 AM around here!) and then I almost got breakfast in bed, but ruined the surprise by quietly coming downstairs.  Instead he made me a lovely breakfast and kept the kids busy while I enjoyed coffee and the paper.  Such luxury!
There were flowers....

And presents...

And a card from Lucia which is clearly depicting 2 beautiful castles for me

And now he has taken them to the park to play and since I woke up with a cold I'm going to putter around and perhaps this will be me:

Even though they sometimes drive me crazy, I adore being the mommy to these two babies:

Hope you are having a wonderful day too!

Tub-O-Ducks

It's supposed to rain today, so instead of going to feed the ducks, we created a little duck pond in the kitchen.   I think it's going to be a very messy day!

We're back!

We had a fun, whirlwind trip to Florida.  Everyone's exhausted!  I  just clicked on bloglines and I have so much to catch up on!  Florida inspired me and I'll share tomorrow.  Am I the only one that goes thrifting on vacation?  It drove my family crazy!

Vintage Playroom/Nursery Part 1

Like many of you, I love incorporating old, vintage items into my children's decor.  It's sometimes hard to strike a balance between old things and safety...so as much as I love them, I don't have a ton of old toys for them to play with.  What I do have I love though!  I thought I'd post some pics and start a Flickr group   for everyone to share their vintage playroom/nursery items and decor.

I bought this little guy at an estate sale and he is the perfect size for a 1 or 2 year old.  My daughter loved this horse, and Toby is just starting to enjoy him.

I'm always seeing little old children's stools at yard sales;  I've seen this particular one many times.  I have them all over the house.  Here  is another that I see a lot.  I think they are 50's or 60s'.

It flips up into a chair/bench.  Very useful! 

I just got this little doll crib this weekend.  The side comes down just like a real crib.  Lucia loves it!  It's made of wood and has a tiny turtle on the side;  I would never find anything as nice for $3 in the store!  I'm planning on making some bedding for her.

This little table and chairs was all rusty and sad at an estate sale.  I painted it white and  poly'ed it and now Lucia has little tea parties ther for her "friends."   It's metal and sturdy and has an ice-cream parlor like charm that I adore.

I had this little guy when I was a baby.  The original is long gone, but of course I found one on Ebay.  Doesn't he just make you happy?

I'll post pics next of the playroom and some other vintage kids things I have.  Please visit the group and add  yours!

One

My baby boy turned one years old this weekend.  It was extremely bittersweet because I know he is my last baby and now he is officially a toddler.  He even took his first steps the day before his birthday, right on cue.  I love him to pieces!


I made him a birthday banner using the vintage greeting card images I posted about here.  I hung it up over the breakfast table as a morning surprise for everyone.

I didn't really photograph it well.  I had originally seen the idea for banners last summer on Bella Dia's website.

I think I will hang it in his nursery for awhile!