Craft Catastrophe/Craft-stravaganza

Last week in the middle of cutting fringe for a poncho that I was making, I accidentally made a little cut in my Paper Denim & Cloth jeans that I splurged on because they were on sale at Anthropologie. My first thought was that the universe was telling me that my flirtation with premium denim was not sustainable. While this may be true, I soon went into problem-solving mode and began searching through etsy shops for a cute patch that will make the jeans still wearable in public settings. As I was shopping, I remembered how I used to make my own patches back in high school and realized there was nothing for sale that I couldn't make myself. This got me thinking that it was also about time for me to order that replacement manual for my grandma's old sewing machine and learn how to use it. Now I'm excitedly waiting for the weekend to hit the fabric stores so I can add some little sewing projects to my knitting as the cold weather creeps in. Problems and solutions are often found in the same place.

Busted Dreams

How does a kindergartener go from extreme elation to deepest sorrow in the course of an evening? 1) Win enough tickets to buy a whoopee cushion at your school's fall festival 2)Learn that a whoopee cushion makes fart noises when you sit on it 3) Sit down a bit hard on the whoopee cushion so that it pops 4) Learn the hard lesson that there are some things that can't be fixed.

Thirty-five

It's a strange time in life when you hit ages that you remember your parents being. Here's a list of my favorite things from this birthday:
1. Figuring out how to play Ellis's school song on the piano and giving him an impromptu music lesson.
2. Feeding Charlie rice cereal and having him actually eat some this time.
3. The court papers ending a nearly year-long custody battle, signed and saying that he's ours.
4. The surprise birthday cake made by Josh's mom.
5. Listening to Josh read "Many Moons" by James Thurber to Ellis at bedtime.
6. Finding a little time to take pictures and knit during a day home with the little boys.
7. Wearing my "Obama Mama" t-shirt for the first time.
8. The mix cd made by Nate with some awesome new music and some of my old favorites that he discovered independently of me.
9. The fact that the morning started with Josh's car emitting blue smoke and that the the evening began with me going grocery shopping without my wallet, and I still think it was a great birthday.
10. Birthday wishes from old friends on Face Book.
11. Feeling the deep pleasure of stability - how well I know these cities, the deep sexiness of being completely familiar with one person, the way I seem to know the right things to do with my children.
12. Identifying a governing priciple for the next year: never letting my internal monologue keep me from noticing the beauty of the West River Parkway during my evening commute.