Kintropy In Action

When I got home from work tonight, I let both kids know it was a Politics Night.  The MSNBC debate was airing.  I was DRVing it.  We were watching it.  Between debates and Tuesday primary nights, I have established this as an election year routine.  The kids are getting used to it, but that in no way means that they accept it.

Both kids know Dad is interested and involved in local politics, policy development, and advocacy.  For example, they knew that this morning was a Salem Day, that I was headed to the state Capitol to work with a health policy committee.  Despite this understanding of my interests, however, I think the kids see Politics Night in an entirely different light.

To Gabriel, Politics Night tonight meant a brief cheer for the "blue team" as he calls us Democrats.  Then he went back to his pacing, internal dialogue, and a promotional Fisher Price DVD that he has mistaken for a short movie.  For Hannah, Politics Night tonight meant no Jeopardy, no Wheel of Fortune, some playtime, and limited singing time from Dad.  Both kids confirmed their understanding of debates as pretty much a "Dad-thing."

By 8pm, Hannah had had enough.  Much like our debaters, Hannah tried a variety of strategies to win me over:  the Smile, the Clapping, the Silent I'm-Playing-With-My-Toys-And-Ignoring-You Treatment, the Roll To the Carpet That Makes Me Break Out treatment.  None of her approaches was effective.  Finally, she tried the Pout.  Hannah tucked her top lip into her bottom lip:  the face of Extreme Dissatisfaction.  Interestingly, just like my Mom's.  And mine.

By 8pm, I was ready, like Barack, to concede Hannah's point graciously:  it was time to head to her bedroom.  Gabriel worked to get himself ready for bed as Hannah and I settled into her bedroom.  I put OyBaby! on, and she approved.  Gabriel and I experimented with our new 2-way radios I bought last night, sqwelching from room to room.  Hannah laughed hysterically when I gave her a radio and sung her songs from a different room, out of sight.  Soon after, Gabriel retired to his room for the night, and Hannah and I spent some time watching a DVD and singing.

Once Hannah's nurse came on, I returned to my DVR and finished the debate.  It's amazing how easy it is to watch a debate without pausing the DVR when no kids are present.  However, I hope that exposing the kids to politics, debate, and all of that will encourage them one day to get involved.  Of course, if they got involved now, Gabriel would vote for Mario from the Wii or Anakin Skywalker (before he went "bad"); Hannah, for Laurie Berkner or Dan Zanes.

Well, in either case, at least both kids would be informed voters.  Besides, I'd kind of like to see a Anakin Skywalker vs. Dan Zanes debate.  Could Anakin control his anger?  Could Dan Zanes maintain his fun & cool exterior?  Would Anakin force push Zanes?  Would Zanes win over the crowd with some peppy music?  Now that might be worth watching. 

-- Dad

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Saturday morning, Robert, my generous husband, let me sleep in. When I woke, I found Gabriel, Robert, and Hannah on the floor in Hannah's room watching a promotional video of Disneyland filled with songs. Robert had Gabriel’s megablock marvel action figures talking to the TV screen. He had the figures responding to the songs and content. Gabriel was laughing and Hannah was trying to get a hold of one of the figures to chew on them.

I laughed along and told Hannah to be careful: Wolverine could become sharp if his claws came out.

I never get tired of mornings like that.

--Mom

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Today was homework day.  Gabriel tried to talk Janette out of it, even pointing out that he's not sure how those pieces of paper got in his backpack.  The ruse, though amusing, failed.  Janette sat him down at the dining room table and worked with him.  Hannah was playing well on the carpet.  I disappeared for some computer time.

By the time I came back in the room, Gabriel had written down some rhyming words with Janette's input and help, but he was stalling in a big way.  

"I might need your help," Janette confessed.

It was time for tough love.

"Focus, Gabriel," I said, "it's time for your homework."

Of course, within a few minutes, Gabriel was in timeout in his room.  He had fussed.  He had tried to amuse us.  He had played with the pencil:  anything to avoid the workbook copy in front of him.  I gave him a few letting-off-steam minutes and then followed him with his homework in one hand and a pencil in the other.

I'm not a big fan of the workbook stuff, but the rhyming words, to help with reading and patterning, made some sense to me.  For me, though, it was no longer about the homework.  Now it was watching Janette's mounting frustration and one of our two master manipulators seeing how far he could push it.  Time to get to work.

Gabriel has a nice kids' student desk in his room.  I directed him to clean it off.  This was ALL business.  Gabriel knew play time had passed.  With big sad velvet eyes, he tried to ward me off.  We proceeded anyway.

Gabriel's rhyming words ran in three parallel columns down the page.  Once you got the "can" word at the top of one column, you could rhyme your way down that column pretty effectively:  "man", "ran", etc..  Repetition is part of the equation for Gabriel.  He also needs to hear it and picture it in his head, so we made up sentences and silly stories to join the words together.  We moved among them in random order, completed this page of homework, learned some new sight words, and had a good time.

In fact, Gabriel pulled out a phonics reader toy and promised to practice some more.  Janette popped in to remind me it was almost time to head to the movie I planned to see (she was giving me a break to go out and do something adult!).  I reminded Gabriel we'd review when I got home, so he should practice.

Well, by the time I returned, he hadn't practiced, but he was playing with the phonics toy.  We pulled out the worksheet in the relative quiet of his room (one important trick for him:  fewer distractions, better).  He read each word fairly easily and invented some new (okay, gross) stories to go with them.  We chuckled, and I excused myself for a brief, shake-off-the-2am shift nap.

He followed me.  "Dad!" he was excited (also "dad" was one of his rhyming words).  "I'm going to do one phonics book each day!"  He patted me on the head ("pat", "sat", "rat").   

"Gabriel," I reminded him, "I'm trying to nap." ("nap", "cap", "sap")  "I'm very proud of you for working on your reading."

His chin literally lifted into the air as he bounced out of the room.  I wanted to lay back down, but I could hear him skipping through the house, encouraging himself:  "Go, Gabriel!  Go, Gabriel!"  He started his externalized dialogue.  "Dad says he's proud of me.  Really?  That's cool!  Go, Gabriel!  Go, Gabriel!"

Laughing that hard, there was no way I was going to sleep!

-- Dad 

Posted by Dad at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The 60s had Woodstock; the 70s, Montreaux; the 80s, LiveAid and the US Festival; the 90s, Lollapaloza.

In 2008, we have CuddleFest.

Gabriel declares this event when Mom, Dad, and Hannah are stretched across the family room floor in some proximity.  "CuddleFest!" our promoter announces.  His first action is to figure out where Hannah and Mom are and jump inbetween them.  This is a must:  like a Lollapaloza mash pit.

"Gentle," I, the security guard, remind him and Hannah.  Mom chimes in when Hannah claws at her hair or Gabriel accidently kicks her.  Tickling ensues.  Gabriel remembers that he's forgotten to grab a blanket from his bed:  a must have for the Festival, and he heads off to get one and drag it back to the family room floor.

Hugs all around.  Hannah plants big wet kisses on Janette (usually in the hair since Hannah's fingers are grabbing that anyway).  More tickling.  I provide the music for Hannah or imitate voices for Gabriel (note:  likes Yoda, hates the Emperor).

Within a few minutes, the curtain closes on CuddleFest.  Mom limps away, nursing an aggressive-hug-accidental-kick wound or wiping extra wet kisses from her cheeks.  Hannah rolls away to play with her toys.  Gabriel encourages everyone to perform an encore, but Security tickles him out the door.

-- Dad 

Posted by Dad at 02:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The brain is a wonderful thing.  You wake.  You read the newspaper.  You head to work.  You work.  You return home.  You enjoy a little time with the family.  The kids go to bed.  You gel from an hour in empty t.v. land....

And your brain decides now, at 11 pm, would be a good time to rework that puzzle from earlier in the day.  You know, the one with twelve moving pieces.  3 pm - not a good time.  11 pm?  Perfect.  The zombie zen of t.v. opens up possibilities, probabilities, and puzzles before sleep.

Yes, the brain is a wonderful thing.

-- Dad

Posted by Dad at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, I think I’ve made a break through with Gabriel today. I’ve become Dictator Mommy working on reading with him above everything else. The poor child has to work on reading books with me before we do anything he chooses to do such as video games or watch his favorite shows. Today, he picked a book that was pretty hard for him. I’ve been focusing on sounding out letters which worked for me, but that doesn’t seem to help him - just frustrate him more.

So today he said, "Mommy can’t you just read a line and have me repeat it?"

I cocked my head and thought about how Robert reads "Ok, let’s try it your way." It went smoother, and I had him reread each page after we finished each line. I think our focus will be on exposing him to written words over and over. It is sad that this has to happen in Kindergarten, but my goal is to getting him reading well by first grade.

Hannah is showing more stability in the standing department. Today, watching her with her physical therapist, she seems to be excelling.

I am internally shushing my negative voice who talks about how a great deal of progress seems to involve three steps forward then four steps back. I’m trying to blow up Sisyphus’s rock in my head. Hmm maybe chocolate will work. Or a blast of Elvis Costello Music.

--Mom

Posted by parents at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

A big thank you to Jennifer over at Diary of One for awarding us an Excellent blogging award on Valentine's Day.  We appreciate the mention, the link, and your many comments over time. 

Jennifer's blog is a great read.  I'm enjoying her art history segments in particular.  Janette and I met in an art history class, no less.  She was the one who nudged me awake at the all-too-early hour of turn-off-the-lights-for-slides-now at 7:30am..  Romantic from the very start .

We also participated in last week's Carnival of Family Life.  It is full of family humor & parenting perspectives & tips.  Definitely worth a read every week!

-- Dad 

Posted by Dad at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, Gabriel and Hannah headed to college.  After six and almost four years, respectively, both seemed prepared for higher education.  Gabriel has been reading for awhile, mastering single-syllable sight words; Hannah has been learning new signs and words, too.  It was time to move up.

At least that's how I sold the adventure to Gabriel this morning.  We were headed to George Fox University in Newberg, OR to participate in a speakers' panel with Hannah's nursing agency, CNS.  I loved the idea of sharing Hannah's history, a parent's perspective on in-home nursing, and our very positive experience with CNS with a room full of soon-to-graduate nursing students.  I just wasn't sure if Gabriel and Hannah could keep it together for an hour plus.

"Gabriel, we're going to college today.  You ready to start college?"

"Yeah, college!  I can't wait to tell Mrs. G [his kindergarten teacher]!  She'll be so surprised!"

Gabriel further advised Hannah that she wasn't quite ready for higher education yet; she would need to learn to read like him.  Then she could go to college, too.

As we drove toward Newberg, Janette and I peppered the kids with college features and facts.  Did you know that you could do science labs in college?  Mommy and Daddy met in college, did you know that?  All of our anecdotes seemed to excite Gabriel further.  Hannah was less happy with the length of the drive, but took most of it in stride.

We arrived on campus thirty minutes later, soon found our panel group, and headed up to the classroom.  Janette and Gabriel laid out blankets for Hannah to play on.  As members of the panel took turns introducing themselves and answering questions, we carefully dolled out Hannah's toys.  She spun across the blankets, chasing her Babbling Bee.  The mp3 player amused her briefly.  The kinetic singing drum satisfied her for awhile.

Watching all of this, one the nursing students asked, "Hannah seems to be a very active girl.  With all of the equipment, how do you keep up with her?"

Janette and I both laughed.  It was a good question.  Janette described the gymnastics involved in keeping a suction catheter sterile while timing trach suction with Hannah's dance.  I echoed her comments.  We moved on.

Through it all, Gabriel sat patiently.  Hannah played.  Fellow families, E & C, spoke about their experiences.  Together, we took and answered many really great questions.  Hopefully, all of these nursing students will go into their profession with an additional sense of the patient's and family's perspective.  Maybe we'll even see a few take the in-home nursing track.

Afterward, I asked Gabriel and Hannah what they thought.  Hannah responded, "La la la."  [Probably both a request of me and an appreciation for the "Happy Birthday" song the class sung for E, another CNS client.].  Gabriel said, "They chatted a lot.  It was great!"

I didn't quite have the heart to explain "lecture hall class" to Gabriel, but I recognized his acknowlegement of his own learning style (social) in his response.  I hope both he and Hannah can learn to play the elementary and high school game, the one that won't often teach to their natural learning styles necessarily, and hang in there for when college really begins.

-- Dad

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Tonight I am Christos, and I am attempting to conduct the Hannah show.  As in The Truman Show, not quite everything is going to plan.  I haven't seen a par-can fall from the sky yet, but I am looking anxiously at the ceiling, wondering if it's far behind.

I took over from Janette at 2 am.  This is our third, consecutive night shift, so we're both running on "punchy." 

On our night shifts, we do get into a rhythm of sorts, provided Hannah is feeling well.  After a day of typical play and mischief today, however, Hannah quickly escalated to needing ventilator support, oxygen, and the tylenol and ibruprofin swing-your-partner every-three-hour square dance tonight. 

So while the medications doe-see-doe, I write and attempt to conduct the early morning hours to lull Hannah back to sleep.  Currently, she's on the albuterol bounce, and her fever is reduced.  While this is good news, Hannah has interpreted this as a signal to play, watch videos, and engage the world-at-large.

Some of my tools are missing, too.  Usually, I can move from the active video that was playing when I came on shift to Dan Zanes (downshift the lighting) to classical music (darken the room again) and... sleep.  The Dan Zanes disc is missing (has Hannah become more mobile that I realize?), and the classical station is talking more than usual.

So I am playing Deuter and other synthetic new age music via XM that I haven't willingly listened to... well, ever.

Meanwhile, across the hall, a blur of pjs runs past, heading toward our bedroom.

"Gabriel?"

The blur of blue camo doesn't even pause.  Gripped by some night terror, Gabriel is off to sleep beside (I mean kick & claw) the recently relieved Mom.

Now Hannah is over-tired, flicking pacifiers at me to draw me back to the bed for hugs and songs.  I've moved to Stern Daddy Voice here at 4am, letting Hannah know It Is Time... To... Go... TO... SLEEP!

She's somewhat unconvinced, but matching the Daddy Voice with her own P & V.  I write at a distance, giving her some space to maybe, just maybe, toss and turn herself to sleep. 

Meanwhile, as Christos, I hope to regain control of the nightime bedroom set soon.  Otherwise, I've got a schedule to keep here.  Soon, I'll have to cue the Sun.

-- Dad

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In Portland, we have a museum that everyone calls OMSI which is an acronym for the Oregon Science and Industry Museum. Robert and I love it. Gabriel enjoys it, too. Well, they just got a dinosaur exhibit in. With Gabriel getting to see the live show Walking With Dinosaurs, I thought it would be great to go to the exhibit.

Hannah had a doctor appointment downtown Portland this week, so since we were already driving downtown, we decided it would be gas-efficient to go to the OMSI too.

Hannah loved being in a new place; she looked at everything. When I tried to get her to feel some of the hands-on exhibits, she turned her head and pulled her head away. It was way too much stimulation for her. She was just happy being in her wheelchair and being pushed around.

Gabriel found a display area where the curators had made a pretend dig site. It was a walled off area full of rubber bits that looked like pebbles; within these bits were hidden great big wooden pieces that resembled dinosaur bones and could be assemble in a great, big 3-dimensional puzzle of a stegosaurus.  I think that is what it was. Gabriel went in and stared at the pieces, then looked at me. "Mom, could you help me please."

Inside I was thinking, Oh my god, he wants to do a puzzle. How totally cool! Definitely not one of his normal past times. He knows I love them though.

My father in-law was there pushing Hannah around. I looked at him. He gestured for me to go ahead and started pushing Hannah around.

I walked into the pit and got down on my knees. The pieces where big and unruly, but had numbers engraved in them to tell you which piece was which and what notch it interlocked with. I figured all we would get done was try to get it to stand up. I found the first big backbone and Gabriel started handing me ribs. I pointed out the numbers so he could start putting things on with out my help. Another mother and child came and they started helping. Soon other children were coming calling out numbers and asking me where they go. Within a blink of the eye, the pit was swarming with enthusiastic kids working together to assemble this dinosaur at a frantic pace. I looked around because we still hadn’t got it to stand without help and the other mother looked at me from outside the pit and shrugged. A worker at the museum stared at our chaos with his jaw dropped. Finally a volunteer came in and took over supporting the structure.

By the time I walked away, it was a dinosaur. I can’t believe I forgot my camera that day. I thought it was neat that all the kids saw an opportunity to help and jumped in.

--Mom

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I just spent several hours working on valentines for Gabriel’s classmates. Why did I do this?

I am getting the magazine Family Fun Magazine monthly in my home. Since Hannah was born, I gave up on most of the parenting magazines out there. They just couldn’t address the whole disciplining a child who can damage herself when left alone by pulling out her tracheostomy tube or her stomach tube. I also found the milestone stuff unhelpful. So I didn’t renew.

My brother in law, who is a stay at home Dad, introduced me to Family Fun Magazine with a couple of its ideas. It didn’t contain pages and pages of parenting advice; instead it contains ideas for having fun together as a family with different ages involved. This I could look through.

I liked that the alien wasn’t smarmy and I changed the words inside to: "Have an out of this world day!" When I was a kid, I always found the messages on store-bought cards a little too amorous for my tastes.

Robert and I don’t do Valentines Day ourselves.  We don’t feel the corporate world needs to tell us when we should do romantic gestures. So I didn’t even put the word Valentine in the words in card. Hopefully, the valentine readers will get the gist.

Of course, half way through the twenty-five I was making I realized I could of just bought two boxes for two dollars each, but what would the challenge in that be. I used up all the green construction paper in the house so I had to do a few in another color: blue. I found where I hid the pipe cleaners, and then I went to the computer and uploaded an alien city doodle from my sketchbook for the interior.

My boss, Gabriel, loved it. He took off with the demo piece to have practice conversations and bring it to life. At least he likes them. I do realize that their recipients will look at them once for about two seconds then toss them.

Hmmm what should I do for Hannah’s class?

--Mom

Posted by parents at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Before we left the house, I reminded both Hannah and Gabriel, "We're going to a nice restaurant.  Best behavior, please."  I picked up Hannah.  "And, Hannah, no tantrums."

Hannah avoided looking me in the eye.

"Hannah.  Hannah.  You need to behave, okay?"

By this time, I was holding Hannah; she snuggled into my shoulder.  I took that as acceptance.

Quickly, we packed up the car and headed into Portland.  Janette's dad, Pop-Pop, wanted to meet us and have dinner before his flight back to Florida.  We arranged to meet at our favorite spot, Jake's Grill.  This was a special place for Janette and me.  It was our date place.  Our we-get-some-time-to-ourselves place.  Now, we were about to share this place with our kids.

A few miles from the house, traffic ground to a halt on the 26.  Hannah shifted in her seat.  A few miles later, she started to cry.  Closer to the city, she started to scream.

By the time we arrived at Jake's, Hannah was doing the potty-NOW dance.  Janette took her back, and Gabriel and I joined Pop-Pop at the table.  We all chatted and caught up.  Janette and Hannah rejoined us about fifteen minutes later.

As far as setting the tone, I thought we were in for another difficult dinner.  Neither of our kids is particularly keen on sitting still, particularly for more than fifteen minutes at a time.  Gabriel understood we were going someplace special.  To Hannah, though, we were in another restaurant (not her strength), sitting still (not preferred), eating (she'll sample by mouth, but eat primarily through her g-tube while we eat).

Technology to the rescue!  After everyone had talked for a bit, Janette handed out the electronic babysitters.  Gabriel's face glowed in Nintendo DS blue.  Hannah clapped for the small, portable DVD player, our video magic jukebox, perched on the table in front of her.  Janette, Pop-Pop, and I ordered for us and the kids and, in between feeding Hannah and checking in on the kids, we got to have some adult conversation when the ambient din allowed.

Hannah and Gabriel showed fantastic patience (particularly given that Hannah was still smarting from the bathroom trip - not easy to go with low muscle tone).  We actually made it through the whole meal without a tantrum.  I know.  I know.  The electronic babysitters may be tacky, but I'll bet our adjacent diners appreciated this tactic better than the alternative.

After I finished up, I took Gabriel, then Hannah and Gabriel for a walk through the connecting hallway to the grand old Governor Hotel lobby.  Hannah sat perched near my shoulder, eyes-wide as she examined the lobby's ornate ceiling.  Gabriel seemed to love the whole restaurant with the hidden hotel lobby up-the-stairs-and-hidden-in-the-back concept.

Interestingly, the hotel was hosting a Providence Child Development Center dinner tonight, too.  I remarked to a woman managing the coat room that we probably knew a person or two in there.  Within a few minutes, I heard, "Hannah?"

A member of Hannah's IFSP team from last year stopped us and reintroduced herself.  She would have been Hannah's teacher if Hannah had gone into a "self-contained" preschool (only kids that experience disabilities) rather than Gabriel's old preschool.  Although she didn't end up being Hannah's teacher, both Janette and I had appreciated the attention and interest she had given Hannah during the IFSP.

We chatted.  I introduced Gabriel, and he proudly announced that he was now six, holding up the right number of fingers (good job, buddy!).  Hannah's almost-teacher introduced me to her mother.  In the end, Hannah got tons of attention (which she soaked up) and a three singer, two part harmony "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Janette rang my cell phone, and we said our good-byes.  Heading back toward the stairs, I smirked.  Hannah must think the world is a musical.  People sing to her everywhere, and everyone knows her name!  I wonder how all this looks and feels to Gabriel sometimes, but he seems willing to play a supporting role in Hannah's sometimes-rock-star life for now.

-- Dad 

Posted by Dad at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

"Would you like to come over for a Super Bowl party tomorrow?" 

"Hold on a sec."  I held the phone at my side, discussing Bubbie's invite quickly with Janette.  HD t.v. football, snacks, and family fan time:  sounded perfect to me. 

Janette, I knew, would not be as enthusiastic, though.  During this year's season, both kids had embraced the pigskin with me, but not Janette.  Hannah loved the lights, music, and action.  She sat next to me, cheering on our teams many Sundays.  Gabriel discovered a fleeting interest in the team that bore his monogram on its helmet, particularly when they played against Pop Pop's Eagles.  For Janette, football was just one of my little surprises she had discovered after our marriage.

"How about I take the kids over, and you get some down time?" I offered.

Needless to say, Janette wholeheartedly endorsed my proposal.

Enjoying the brief halo circling my head, I prepared for football day.  Sunday morning, Hannah and I warmed up by playing, dancing, singing, and walking laps around the house.  Gabriel joined us after Sunday school, building what he called a coyote cave with Janette.  He and Hannah dug in for a kids' sized, pre-game tailgate party.

After a few minutes to myself and a shower, I gathered up the kids around two and headed to Bubbie's.

What can I say?  We ate, we watched, we conquered.  Hannah bounced her attention from Cousin J to Auntie OK (who earned a big, happy shout-out from Hannah usually reserved for her closest personal and professional friends).  Gabriel played with his cousin or his Nintendo DS, occassionally looking up to admire the animated football player and Terminator robots duking it out around commerical breaks.  Janette walked over and joined us for dinner.  My brother, mother, and I:  we enjoyed an excitingly close and well-fought game, all celebrating the narrow victory by the much-maligned New York Giants.

Tonight, Hannah sleeps deeply after a no-nap Sunday.  Gabriel, too, has settled in his room.  I've roamed the internet to read game narratives, several of which captured this nail-biter well.  Now, I'm signing off and heading to bed myself.

To a great next season (yes, the Pro Bowl doesn't really count)....

-- Dad

Posted by Dad at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Once in the while to clear my head I go on an outing. Hannah is becoming more mobile so one day I took her to the JoAnn fabric craft store. I love looking at raw materials. Hannah just enjoyed being out and the colors and shapes. It is also dangerous place for me. I try to stay in the bargain fabric area.

Since Hannah breaks out from most fabrics, her grandfather Zadie has become her designer slash tailor. He found elastic without latex and makes all her pants to protect her delicate skin from the rest of the world. So I cruise the discount fabrics for 100 percent cotton fabric for her clothing needs. I still can spend more then our budget allows.

As we were walking through the higher priced fabric section Hannah said the word "Wow!"

It was a dress on a little girl mannequin. All two toned and shiny. It was adorable. I eyed the pattern hmmm 10.00 dollars. I better talk it over with Zadie before I invested in it.

Over the next few weeks I had a casual conversation with Zadie. I mentioned we could use it as an incentive for walking. Truthfully floor rolling it is not practical in a dress.

He laughed, "I’m making it anyway!"

Have I mentioned I love him? So this Friday for my alone time I went back to JoAnn’s and procured McCall’s Pattern M2590 and then had fun shopping for fabric. I ended up with a beautiful 60’s inspired pink oval fabric for the skirt part and chose a brownish magenta that was used as the outline in the ovals for the top half. That was for Zadie and me, of course, Zadie demands she wears pink, and he’s right she looks great in it. For Miss Hannah who loves yellow, I also ended up with a bright yellow zigzag fabric for another skirt part. I found a solid burnt orange color that was the same as a color in the zigzags for the top half of the dress.

I’m quite excited. I don’t get to do this kind of thing too often. I actually was looking forward to these kinds of things when I found out I was having a girl.

It is amazing the most inane things can give you a lift in your step.

--Mom

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