This was how we spent our Saturday night:...watching the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert in 3D. The girls loved it, although we could hardly hear the tv because Arissa was singing along at the top of her lungs...she knows every word of every single song! :O)
This is the "casket" that Arissa made for our first mouse who lost his life. I thought it was so cute, the picture she drew of him:
note: please forgive the background in the pictures to come. I used a cute fabric as the background, but in trying to photograph the full subject, I got some grass in the shot and forgot to crop it before I uploaded and it kind of distracts from the shot! Oops.
And then on Saturday Jesse was nice enough to take the girls to the park and to his Grandma's to visit, so I got to do some sewing and finish up some projects. I have a list of like 9 friends who either have had babies in the last two months, or are due to give birth in the next two months. So I am kind of frantic to churn out lots of baby gifts. I made a bunch of these....I bought some cute fabric, and used "fusable webbing" to fuse it to the onesie, then I stitched around it. And I'm making matching crocheted ruffled hats to go with:
Also, I made these little guys which I love. They're fast, easy, and cute. The turtle is a little raggedy already because he was my first one and the girls played with him rough and tested my stitching....which I had to improve before I give any as gifts:
And finally, I'm in love with these next guys. I got the idea off a website I browse frequently, so I cut a quick pattern and tried to make my own. The pink/red one is the first one I did, which you can tell by the funny-shaped nose, messy seams, and bad stitching. But even so, I love the fabric so much that I'm keeping him. But as I made a few more, I corrected my mistakes and improved my technique a little:
Arissa, Mariah, and Mallory also loved these. And they assumed, sicne I made three of them, that I must have made them for them! But like I said I have numerous babies that I need to give gifts to, so after I churn out a bunch of these, I'll make some for my girls. Maybe let them choose the fabric too, they like that. :O)
our weekend
on a lighter note....
Yesterday after we got home from work, and I sat down on the couch to do some knitting, Arissa comes in from outside and says "Mommy? Does Blossom sleep with her mouth and eyes open?"
Jesse ran outside and found Blossom laying in the grass, and she had passed on. He held her and loved her. Then we found a box, and laid a blanket in it for her. I had sewn a heart shaped pillow the other day for a friend, but we put it in the box for Blossom to rest her head on.
Before burying her, we put in the box w/ her: a picture of us, her kitty treats, and some flowers. Then we took her over to my Grandma's and Jesse buried her under the Tangerine tree where many other East family pets are laid to rest. We all said our final goodbyes, then Jesse closed the grave and we laid flowers on top.
Poor Jesse took it the hardest. He came to love Blossom, and he's spent the past 9 years loving her and taking care of her. She used to sleep next to him every single night. Granted, many times she slept on his head and he had to keep pushing her off, but still they had a routine together.
Mallory also took it hard. Blossom came to be her special pet, she dragged her around and cuddled her and played with her. She cried for a good 5 minutes when we broke the news.
I admit, I am happy and relieved to be able to throw out the kitty litter box and never have to clean it again. But, Blossom represents to me, one of the few connections to my childhood. Well I shouldn't say few, I'm fortunate to have several actually, but to me Blossom connects my memory to my childhood home, so many events, and to my mom. In fact, when my mom was sick and bed-ridden, Blossom laid on her lap for days. Whenever I was sick, she would come to me and rub her head on me to comfort me. And so even though I often wondered why she seemed to be immortal and feared I would never be rid of that kitty-litter, I will miss her dearly.
Here are some pictures from yesterday:
This is Jesse & Arissa right after we laid Blossom in the box, before taking her over to the burial grounds (aka Nana's):
Jesse digging Blossom's final resting place, under the tangerine tree amongst the rabbits, cats, and goldfish buried there:
Covering up the grave:
The pillow, with a little of her drool on it from the ride over to Nana's. I had made it for a friend who's name starts w/ an "M"....so for the pillow's final purpose, Jesse decided to "M" stands for "MEOW":
Mallory & Mariah paying their respects and laying flowers at the grave:
The girls laying flowers and saying goodbye to their other "sister":
you know you're a good daddy when...
1. you drive to the far ends of the county at 9pm because all the other stores you called didn't have what you needed....
then
2. you brave the Wal-Mart crowds during their busiest time of day/night....
then
3. you clambor over the other parents and crazed little girls that are hounding the Wal-mart employees just to get 5 pairs of free 3D glasses, so that on Saturday night your family can pop popcorn, gather round the tv and watch this: