While the Giant is Sleeping

One of the most interesting geographical features of Helena, Montana, is the Sleeping Giant. There is a section of our mountain range that really, truly looks like a giant laying on his back. The cool thing is the Sleeping Giant is perfectly framed out of our new back window!

Alycia Holston is an author and Helena resident and, I'm glad to say, also a friend of mine. She and illustrator Suzi Stranahan have produced a charming picture book called While the Giant is Sleeping that follows the Sleeping Giant throughout the year as the seasons change around him. This well written and beautifully illustrated book is a treat for both children and their parents. Both of my young children loved reading about all of the wildlife and weather that pass through "while the giant is sleeping." I highly recommend this book, especially if your children are interested in nature.

Alycia and Suzi are currently having a giveaway on their site Calm Creations for a copy of While the Giant is Sleeping. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is visit their site today, let them know which of the winter illustrations from While the Giant is Sleeping is your favorite (the illustrations are on their site), and make sure to leave your name and email address in your comment. Easy peasy!

You can also purchase a copy of While the Giant Sleeping on Amazon or through CrossRiver Media.

Flying

This is an actual conversation I had with Maddie yesterday.

Maddie: There goes bird flying with flapping wings.

Me: Yup

Maddie: I fly, I flap wings?

Me: No, you don't have wings, so you can't fly.

Maddie: (Sad face)

Me: Because we are human, humans can't fly, only in airplanes.

Maddie: But I be Tinkerbelle.

Me: But Tinkerbelle is a fairy, that is why she can fly, people can't fly.

Maddie: Oh! Idea! We get pixie dust. We get pixie dust we fly.

Me: (desperately trying not to laugh) That's a good idea but we don't have any pixie dust today.

Maddie: Ok, I go find pixie dust, bye!

Crossing Things Off My List

I have been wanting to submit my manuscript to an agent for awhile. I sent it off to a few publishing houses that accept unsolicited submissions earlier this year with no success, and I thought why not see if the agent route would work better for me? If I think my manuscript is worthy of publication, then shouldn't I think it is worthy of having someone other than me fight for it?

So I did my research and found an agent I am interested in and I have sent it off via cyberspace. I totally unduly stress myself out over these things . . . I want everything to be 1000% perfect and so I get all tweaked, and I am sure I annoy all of my friends and family. I received a very nice auto response saying:

"Thanks for your submission, if we want your stuff we'll let you know, if you don't hear from us in six weeks then go jump off a cliff."

. . . ok, that isn't really what it said.

I suppose I shall use the next six weeks to research other agents I feel might be a good fit for me, because the odds are that the first agent will say no . . . actually they won't even say it, they just won't ever email me back.

I realize these are the odds, but even so I will probably react like this at the end of six weeks when my email box is sad and lonely and empty:

Isn't this an awesome photo? It's one of my "sneak peeks" from the photo shoot the babies did with Marisa a few months ago. Doesn't Maddie look as if she should be sitting in the middle of war-torn Sarajevo or somewhere equally awful? But she's not. She's sitting on a trolley track in Glendale. I suppose as a mom I should look at this photo and say "awww poor baby," but I don't. I look at it and laugh hysterically.

Here is our sneak peek of James from the same session. Notice he is not screaming. He's just standing about looking beautiful. That's pretty much how James handles getting his picture taken . . . it's sort of like "well of course you are taking my picture, why wouldn't you?"

Agent submissions aside, I am horribly behind on the rest of my life due to this whole working for a living thing. If you are waiting for a package in the mail from me, I promise they are all going out Friday . . . Saturday at the latest. Really . . . I promise.

Repurposed craft

For Maddie's first birthday we had a Minnie Mouse theme and I, of course, went a bit overboard (I am already trying to decide on birthday themes for next year so I can get a head start . . . I have to have my ideas percolate in ye ol' noggin for awhile). One of the projects I decided to do - at the extreme last minute, as in the night before the party - was a high chair cover and skirt. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I basically just traced the top the the high chair to get the basic curve pattern to use in cutting my fabric pieces, and then cut and hemmed slits up the side to fit over the legs. The felt Minnie Mouse head matched the one on Maddie's dress. I gathered the tulle into sections tied with ribbon then quickly hot glued the sections onto the high chair tray, et voila - a high chair fit for a Minnie Princess!

(please note it was a very blustery day outside)

The problem with projects like this is that they are really only used once! How many times am I going to need a Minnie Mouse high chair cover? It made me kind of sad, because the fabric I used was actually a really snuggly and sturdy type of fabric, and so fun with the polka dots. So I tucked it away in the sewing bin hoping I could use it in the future. A few months ago I noticed that Maddie liked putting the couch cushions on the floor and then sprawling on them, and realized she needed a floor pillow. I then further realized that the high chair cover was just about the right size! I have been meaning to repurpose the cover into a floor pillow for several months, and I finally got around to it! Minnie got removed - she came off in the wash actually, which was perfect because she was only hot glued on and I was concerned about pulling her off and ruining the fabric, but she came off like a dream after a quick spin in the washer. I just double hemmed the sides for sturdiness, following the "pattern" of the high chair cover. I ended up with a big, fluffy, if oddly-shaped, floor pillow.

Here is Maddie trying it out on the couch . . . we will see if she will snuggle up with it on the floor when she watches her t.v. show.

And then there were two . . .

The last time I posted on this blog was just a few days before finding out I was pregnant for the second time in as many years.  God has blessed us with a miracle baby, bringing our kid count to two and our family size to four!  Being pregnant with a baby already in the house was definitely tiring, hence the abandonment of this blog . . . taking up sewing didn't help with the time management issues either (thanks Mom for the sewing machine as a Christmas present!).  

James Edward was born at home on June 27th, 2009 (just three days before my 30th birthday) and weighed 8 lbs, 12 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Introducing James:

I love this picture, even though we didn't quite get Maddie's hand in it correctly.  She loves her brother and is interested in everything he does, but she loves him just a little too much.  "Gentle" is a hard concept for an almost 15 month old who doesn't know her own strength!

Because James was born on 6/27, and Maddie on 4/26 they are exactly 14 months and one day apart, which makes Mommy a busy girl.  Here is how Maddie entertained herself while we took pictures of her baby brother:

 Unless the LORD builds the house,

         They labor in vain who build it;

         Unless the LORD guards the city,

         The watchman keeps awake in vain. 

    It is vain for you to rise up early,

         To retire late,

         To eat the bread of painful labors;

         For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. 

    Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,

         The fruit of the womb is a reward. 

    Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

         So are the children of one's youth. 

    How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;

         They will not be ashamed

         When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

 - Psalm 127