F.O.'s for the kiddos

During the last couple of weeks we have been having fun and enjoying the glorious spring weather.  We went to the beach at Half Moon Bay, and to Ardenwood farm on Sheep Shearing Day - unfortunately they don't sell their wool, but the boys were fascinated by the sheep shearing and by the historical spinning, weaving, and cooking demonstrations, as well as the farm equipment and the birds in the aviary.

We were also able to squeeze in a little crafting.  Zaahir helped me finish his pillow:

    

which he now cannot live without!  He operated the pedal of the sewing machine. 

And I finished his tiger on the drive to Half Moon Bay:  (somehow the front facing picture got lost - I'll have to take another one.)

 The background is the back of the embroidered pillow.  Zaahir is still hoping that I will make the tiger a school uniform like his!  I used the "lovable toys" pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, with many modifications, including the addition of a nice, long tail:

Baking with babes

The boys and I love to bake together.  After a few batter slinging fiascos, however, I had to restructure baking time like any other lesson plan:

1.  Organize ingredients on the table in the order they will be used.  Zaahir (7 years old) reads the recipe to make sure we have everything we need.

2. Assign specific tasks - Zaahir is in charge of measuring and stirring.  Mama is in charge of putting ingredients away as we use them.  Ahmad (2  1/2 years old) is in charge of doing mixing experiments.  All of us form cookies and Zaahir puts them into the oven.  Mama takes them out of the oven.

3.  Manadatory recess!  While I do some basic cleanup, the boys do an activity outside the kitchen.  Then I can also do any preforming of dough.

This weekend our efforts paid off in the fom of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies - yummy! 

  Ahmad experiments

Utopia = no where?

Women who work have two full time jobs, at least.  This is obvious to most of you, and certainly not a revelation for me, but it is challenging making the people in my home happy in half the time.  I've read Amanda Soule's books and wished that our lives could be so relaxed and crafty and homey.  I've read countless blogs about crafting, baking, playing, and decorating, but am barely able to squeeze in the laundry!  But I do, and I make stuffed animals and special blankets for my kids.  And any chance we get, we take off for museums or state parks or beaches.  So I am doing what I can with the time we have.

My only regret is that I am not able to lift the sadness from my husband's heart.  He comes home from work or from taking my mother-in-law to her various doctors, briefly admires our sons' creations, and falls onto the couch, exhausted.  He watches T.V. in the evening because he doesn't seem to have even enough energy to talk.  Lately, we have not been eating together as a family.  He and his mother eat in front of the t.v. and I eat with the kids in the kitchen.  And our family feels different. 

I was hoping to post about finishing Zaahir's stuffed tiger this weekend (maybe I will later this week), or about the trip the boys and I took to the electric model train exhibit at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers.  But it is just as important to remember the days when life is not homey and happy, or not what we are always hoping for - so that we don't take the special times too much for granted.  Just as important as the current sewing or baking project, is the intention behind it.  I will not stop trying to make my little apartment (with dingy wall-to-wall carpet) beautiful.  I will not stop trying to make my children laugh.  And I will forever work to create a place of bright, delicious, colorful harmony, even when it seems like we are living in a fog of fatigue and misunderstanding.  That way, when the fog burns off, the colors will be even brighter, and the cake will taste even more spectaculicious!

Butterfly #1

Saturday I finished knitting my butterfly from Zoe Mellor's Knitted Toys.  I still have to sew on button eyes and felt backing on the wings - the felt I ordered from Purl came today - such brilliant, bright colors!  I modified the pattern quite a bit to make it easier for my beginning students, and stuffed the body with bamboo stuffing.

Knitting for Kashmir

Earlier this year, the knitting club members at my school made scarves for orphans in Kashmir.  They were so excited and motivated - I have never seen 4th graders knit so fast!  Here is a sample of what they made: 

Lots of teachers and community members got into the act too, and in the end we sent 50 scarves (one for each girl at the Give Light orphanage), and 50 pairs of socks that were donated by one of the knitters.   

This trimester our charity project will be premie caps for babies in the local NICU, insha'Allah.