Put A [ _____ ] On It

A friend asked me tonight at a dinner out if I ever made the burlap wreath that I found on Pinterest a few months ago.  I said yes, which reminded me to post about it.  Well, I forgot about it again, until later when I walked my babysitter to the door...

...looked at the wreath....

...and noticed....

... a new friend.  Hi, Toad!

Seems that critters like my door decorations.

And while I am sharing the project....  I'll share a little hand-made pin that my friend Marlene made for me.  It looks so cute tucked into the silk hydrangeas.

A Brand New Game Called School

I am in mourning.  I am leaving a certain life behind me that I really liked and I am just sad about it.

That certain life was one with pre-school aged children.  

Tucker has been in school since August, but it is now clear.... my game is changing.  School and its daily-ness and its requirements are changing me.  I recognized a glimmer of this a few months ago.... I noticed how prepping the outfit, the breakfast, the snack, the backpack every night was taking forethought and time that I wasn't used to. I noticed how receiving the boy home, looking through the folders, preventing the tired-and-hungry meltdown, doing the daily reading, cleaning out the snack containers....  I wasn't used to that, either.  And it also took time and forethought.  But, it was okay and we all managed and time has moved on.

But now, today... I am feeling a bit locked in.  Like a caged animal because... I noticed the school attendance policy.  It wasn't what I thought it was.  You mean, I can't pick up and go whenever I want anymore?  But!  But.  But.  

Is this what a desperate housewife feels like?  Locked in to society's schedule and keeping everyone in the household moving with that schedule?  Every day and every month for the rest of the school year?  It might be.  

I didn't realize that I was a free spirit.  I have some free spirit qualities, like needing lots and lots of time in order for creativity to flow.  But, sometimes it is hard to be spontaneous.  So I assumed I was one of those scheduled people.  But maybe not.  Maybe that's why I write about how I run my house and life, because maybe it doesn't actually come naturally for me.  I wasn't always the way I am now, I guess I had to learn to make my bed and use my calendar and notebook.  Yes, I am a free spirit.

So, the caged free spirit is raging inside of me a little bit.  Especially because Tucker had a three day weekend, which is now over, and it was lovely.  I loved having him around.  Calvin was much more content for having his brother to interact with.  We did so much, yet it all unfolded without a plan or a time table. We read a lot of books.  We watched some tv.  We played outside.  We made cookies.  It was sort of a perfect and stereotypical few days with them.  I guess the best part of it was that.... I love that I loved having him around.  It made me happy that I wasn't overwhelmed by all the noises and questions and intensity of my sweet oldest child.  Maybe I wouldn't feel so romantic about the whole thing after a week off from school, I don't know.  But, tonight it's Sunday night and I am sad for Monday to come around.  

Gappy Pants

I have a personal problem.

My pants never fit.  Most jeans or slacks I try on have a huge gap in the waist band.  Hello, I really ought to be shopping for pants that are known to be draped for the girl with curves, but... I am a slow learner.   I've purchased only a pair or two of "curvy" jeans.  And even then, I have a pair of Gap Curvy jeans that still have an inch and a half gap at the waist band.

I mentioned this personal problem to my expert-seamstress-and-quilting friend Marlene awhile back and she said that she would show me this "easy alteration."  Well, today she did!  I took some photos, and while I am not writing this as a full blown tutorial, I hope that it could help someone else with this little, um, ample-bottomed problem.  :)

So, Marlene jumped right in and helped me rip apart those Gap-py jeans.  She was so confident... she just went to town with her seamripper and these cool Fisker scissor-y things.

• Here's Marlene removing the two back belt loops (this was after determining that the pants were too big by 1.5 inches.... and the way they were constructed, she saw it would be easy to take the waistband in from the middle, though you can do it from the side seams as well).

• Her Fiskar scissors have a very, very sharp point and of course this is a sturdy tool, perfect for taking out heavy-duty denim stitching.

• She then took out several inches of top-stitching.... that's what was attaching the waistband to the pants.

• Here is the waist band, separated from the pants for about 6 inches.

• She ripped out the center seam on the waist band.... this is where we would sew a new seam at 3/4 of an inch from the original seam, in order to take the waistband in by 1.5 inches.

• She had to cut open the facing (the inside part of the waistband) because there was no seam there already.

• I don't have a shot of the next step, but all we did was sew the waist band back together, at 3/4 of an inch in from the original seam.

• Once we did that, Marlene saw that we would have to take in a little bit of the back of the pants, but thankfully there were already darts there.  All we had to do was make the darts bigger.... see how there's a triangle there?  The stitching on the right was our new seam, making the dart bigger and therefore taking in the seat of the pants just a bit, in order for the now-smaller waistband to attach properly.

• Below is the inside of the waistband.... see the huge seam allowance in the middle?   That's the 3/4 of an inch taken in on each side.  Also, side note... see the red pen on the right of the photo?  That is a Fons and Porter marking tool.... it's like a mechanical pencil, but with white, or green or pink or whatever colored lead.  I never knew I needed one, but now I know that I do!  The white was perfect for marking on denim, especially because it is more precise than tailor's chalk.

• Now with bigger darts and a smaller waistband, it was time to top-stitch the whole thing together.  Marlene pinned for me and I sewed two seams (top of the waistband and bottom) to get the whole she-bang back together.  

• Waist band -- attached!

• We marked with the white-leaded tool where to reattach the belt loops, stitched them securely and were done.

We regretted not taking a before and after shot of me wearing the pants, but now that I think about it, that might have been a little TMI for the old blog.   Ha!

Now, I wonder if Marlene will help me again, the next time I need to do this, or if I am now ready to fly on my own!  Youtube had approximately one helpful video on this alteration when I looked a few months ago, and just now, I couldn't find it.  Hey Marlene.... want to do a video tutorial?!

That's How We Purdue It

Our big Homecoming weekend at Purdue has come and gone.  

It was wicked awesome.  I mean, really.  

We drove over 550 miles to get there, with a van load of 6.... two grandparents, two parents, two kids.   That is serious commitment, no?

Let me explain why we were so committed.... because Alumni band is redonkulously fun.  And.... I love, love, love to perform.  I mean, give me a mic and I'd be a happy girl.  I don't get to perform much.... I'd like to think it's just my stage in life.  So, when the opportunity to perform comes up and I am able to take it.... I'll take it!

The weekend in photos!

A quick self-portrait at the Engineering fountain before heading out to watch the undergrad band rehearse ::

After walking on campus a bit, we went to watch the AAMB rehearse and march to the hall of music from the drill field.  My brother Marc, during rehearsal (he's the one levitating in front of the drum)  ::

 Dave and the kids in front of my old dorm, Vawter Hall, waiting for the undergrad drumline to march by  ::

Is the Big Bass Drum captain supposed to peel the drum head?

Friday evening was rehearsal for the Alumni Band.  Dave and his snare buddies have marched together in five previous Homecoming gigs.  Some of them even bought matching drums after graduation, in anticipation of years of Alumni hoopla to come.  Hi Smoot!  Hi Drew!  Hi Dave!  Hi Red-Head-Guy-Whose-Name-I-Never-Remember!

The alumni band consisted of over 400 people.... want to know what 400+ old band-os sound like, in one tiny room?  It's Fighting Varsity!

I have no photos of the color guard rehearsal that night because I was too busy, um.... rehearsing.  However, my mother was there and video taped the whole embarrassing mess.  I shall not be posting that.  Let's just say that perhaps I should have picked up a broom stick and rehearsed the fight songs at least once before getting up to West Lafayette.  Thank goodness the choreography has been virtually untouched on those three numbers.  It all came back to me, eventually.

That night we stayed in Delphi, Indiana, because we found super cheap condos to rent.  However, I can't post the link because I would NEVER, ever stay there again.  The mattress was the worst ever.  So bad, that I had to sleep on top of a folded towel to prevent a spring from stabbing me in the rib cage all night.  There was other stuff, too, but I would just sound like a jerk for complaining.  Moving on....

One of the most exciting moments happened Saturday morning, after a very short night.  I had dropped Dave off for 6:30 drumline warm ups, dropped the kids and MIL off at the student union, dropped of FIL close to the drill field.  I parked my vehicle and as I made my way to the drill field, I was filled with glee as the most wonderful realization dawned.... I was alone.  Blissfully, wonderfully alone.  I mean, I was about to be on a field of 800 people for most of the day, but the reality of it was that I was only in charge of myself.  

OHMYHOLYMOTHER.  

My thought process, as I walked down a dark Third Street...."Hmmm.  There's no one to talk to.  Huh.  Wow.  Okay, that's because I'm by myself.  Woah.  And I guess there won't be anybody to talk to during rehearsal and the game because I don't know any of the other guard alumni, really.  Huh.  Seriously.  I guess that means that the only thing I have to deal with today is to memorize drill, perform the old fight song routines, perform two feature songs with new choregraphy, know when to start and stop, and do a nice chair step as we march?  Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Can I get a witness?  Any one feel  me on this?  Anyone else suddenly realize that it's really, really draining to think of everyone else's (except your own) thirst, hunger, potty, clothing, sleep needs?!!   Yup, it is hard to be a mommy, but it is AMAZING to get a break and not deal with that for a day.]

We rehearsed mostly in the dark, but after sunrise, the director, Dr. Jay Gephart, pumped us up after rehearsal.... he said it looked "spectacular" and I believe it.

I wish I had more photos, but these are from my cell.  My mother took a bunch that I'll post when I eventually get them from her.

Just before marching to the stadium, the band parked and played a bit and I found my parents and MIL.... and my little CB, sacked out on my dad's back.  Not a clue where the big kid was at that point.  Maybe with my other brother, Alex, and his wife, also Purdue alums, who attended the game as well.

Hey, it's me and the Mister!  Backed up by the Illini.  Or, as Dr. Gephart says, the "Eeeleanee."  I know, it's probably not funny at all to Illinois fans, but it was hilarious to me.  

My FIL also marched in the alumni band.... he played sax back in the day, but plays clarinet now.  He was a trooper.... it was a long day for a 60-something year old man with a bum leg.  But he did it!  And, he liked it!

My other big thrill of the day came during half-time.  We played Hail Purdue and during the final chorus, the color guard pressed in towards the fifty.  It was loud, the crowd was cheering, I remembered all the choreography and I couldn't stop smiling.  I won't ever forget that moment.  

You can catch (someone's perspective of) that moment here, starting at 2:58.  You can catch a glimpse of me near the end of the first song, Bang a Drum.  But, it's fast, so it's not that exciting.  :)

The game was fun, though the things that I find fun during a football game are all the things other than the football game!  Ha!  It was cool watching the alumni cheerleaders (who were VERY chipper), and I also got to hang out with the Big Bass Drum Crew a lot, because they were near the alumni band and I wasn't doing anything during the actual game, not being an instrumentalist and all.  And, that's how I got to be on the Jumbo Tron...  I was standing with the crew when the cameras came to interview the also-standing-on-the-sidelines Air Force pilots who did the pre-game fly-over....  Marc and I thought we were pretty slick for mugging for the camera.  I know, I know, we are not that slick.  

It was an exhausting, can't-stop-grinning day.  I've done Alumni band several times and this, by far, was the best one.

Sunday, we spent a few hours running around campus with my family before saying good-bye.  Alex and his wife Chelsea are two of the most awesome people I know and they played with the kids a lot..... here's Alex manhandling Tucker.  Love it.  Can you see the slight look of triumph on Alex's face?

I asked Dave to take a few photos of my family and me....  the next few shots are pretty revealing about who we are.  (The first one is one of his test shots.... not sure how we didn't notice that we were in annoying dappled light, but whatev.)

Seriously, why does my normal face look pissed off all the time?  I gost to work on that.

There were actually many, many more in this sequence, but this is enough.  I wouldn't want to be vain or anything.  

So, like I said, there will be a few more weekend photos once I get ahold of my mom's shots.  She said she had a great view for half time.  I really, reh-hilly want to see the "spectacular" spectacle of 800 people on the field.