Who was that Masked Bear?

During Grandma's visit in January, we dusted off  my sewing machine that had been sitting all alone in the hallway closet for the last 2 years (except for the short stint when James took it out of the box while I was gone and left it on the table for me to read the instructions and learn to sew). 

It never happened.

First, I don't know how to sew plus I find sewing machines a little intimidating.  When I was in middle school I had to take home economics and we had to learn to sew.  I could never apply the right amount of pressure to the pedal and my turtle pillow looked a little scary and would be perfectly at home on the Island of Misfit Toys (if he were a toy).  Why we couldn't sew square pillows, I'll never know. 

"It's like driving a car." The teacher explained as she sat in the chair and gentle pushed the pedal.   Hmmm... I was 12, 13 at the oldest, I actually had never driven a car.  So in addition to having nightmares about a half sewn turtle pillow chasing me around, I started  having nightmares about driving on sidewalks and people screaming and jumping out of the way. My parents had to force me to get my driver's license when I turned 16.

(Why do I own a sewing machine then?  Because, now that I know how to drive and give the gas pedal just the right amount of pressure...I'm ready to tackle sewing (I think) and because it was a gift...a lovely gift...

and I'm ready to give that turtle pillow one more go...except he will be square because I don't need another turtle pillow on my couch.)

So, why did it never happen?

(2)  Before I could read the instructions, my sweet little John lost a very important part of the sewing machine while he was tinkering with it (or so we thought).

(3)  I'm not a "sit down and read instructions kind of person"...I'm a little lazy.  I would rather someone come along, dust off my sewing machine, and show me how to thread it and use it...which leads me to Grandma's visit.

She's not intimidated by a sewing machine at all, not one bit.  She pulled it out the box, made sure all the pieces were in the right place, picked out some thread, threaded the machine and could have sewn a thousand turtle pillows all without instructions. 

 Of course she was really sewing rice socks because our house is so cold.  I loved that she took the time to pull out my sewing machine and teach the girls (who have been itching to learn how to sew for a while now) and  of course me to sew.  Except, I missed the threading lesson and the actual how to sew part because I was cooking these:

So I still don't know how to sew, but Cardin promises she will show me how to thread the sewing machine and James said he can always print the instructions for me.  (  =

The girls have been begging me to pull out the sewing machine again.  I'm not as brave as Grandma but I did let Bella use the sewing kit to sew up a  hole  on the back of her teddy bear.

 She did an excellent job.

She also decided to give him some improvements...hehehe

Last week, I switched furniture around in some of the rooms including a dresser from the boys' room which made a brief stop in the laundry room for a couple of days then onto  the girls' room for all of 2 hours and then back to the boys' room where it will stay permanently (maybe) nestled in the corner.  Lucky for me, I had a professional furniture mover to help with all the rigamarole going on around the house.

She looks so comfortable.  I can't even describe the difficulty it took to get her out of there.  She ran off sobbing.  I laid the dresser on its side so I could slide it to the girls' room, then left to clear a space for it near the closet, and then pushed it out of the laundry room and down the hall without my little helper or

so I thought...little sneaker... 

Hmmm... Next time, I should  probably ask for references.

Last Sunday, our family was asked to sing a special musical number during the  Sacrament meeting.  I politely declined because well singing is not a gift I inherited but these two girls sweetly agreed to sing.

This is my friend, Carlee, who is always there to help out when I need a pianist or a really yummy treat.  She let us crash her place on Saturday so the girls could practice.

They were all so cute!

I couldn't video tape the actual performance but here's a sneak peek...This was only their first time practicing and I think they did a great job...of course I'm their mom...

On Friday night I was walking by the coffee table in the livingroom and saw a drawing one of the girls drew.  It had a picture of them on it and outlined what they were going to wear and how they were going to do their hair.  It was so sweet. 

I wasn't organized enough to take any pictures before church since we had to be there early to actually practice in the chapel but I did manage to persuade them to take a picture after church and they agreed even though all they really wanted to do was get out of their dresses and eat some lunch. 

Of course, no "sister" picture would be complete without their little sister who they persuaded to join them.  I heart them!

Happy Groundhog Day

I wanted to sleep in this morning, but then that's how I feel every morning because well sleep is good for you and the bed is nice and cozy unlike our 1940's something rental house.  James was already up.  He'd probably been up for hours and was being super productive.

Yesterday morning he woke up at 3:30 am and did our taxes, and the morning before that he made an elaborate breakfast for the kids and I.  He started a new job on Monday and until he gets settled in, he doesn't have to be to work until 7:30 am or 8 am and so he has plenty of time to mill around. 

I was worried that he was going to give the kids unrealistic breakfast expectations because a few weeks ago I realized that a whole breakfast including milk, fruit, toast, and whatever main breakfast dish they were serving at school only cost thirty cents...THIRTY cents!  I've been happily slipping the kids a handful of change ever since.  So, I was glad he was too busy to make breakfast this morning except I sort of missed the hashbrowns.

As  I rolled over, I heard a soft sleepy voice say "Happy Groundhog Day, Mommy."  "Is it Groundhog Day?"  I replied as the small lump nestled in closer.  "Yep."  Then my six year old explained all about Groundhog Day while I pulled the covers up higher and got a little more  comfortable.  It would be rude to simply get out of bed when I could snuggle and listen to stories about Punxsutawney Phil.  Who by the way saw his shadow today and predicts 6 more weeks of winter maybe that's why I didn't want to crawl out of bed today because 6 more weeks of winter means 6 more weeks of  a cold, drafty house.

But eventually I did crawl out of bed, although it was more like I fell  off the bed and landed on my butt.  Luckily for me I have cat like reflexes.