Gotta ♥ NJ

Well, it has been a couple of weeks.  I had several subjects lined up and then mother nature dealt us a few blows that made S and I sadder than expected.  First, let me say that I realize mother nature did nothing to us like she has done to so many others lately.  We have had beautiful and/or helpful weather all spring.  We had some great warm weather, then two weeks of rain. Near the end of the two weeks, I thought we might all go a little nutso.  I just kept reminding myself that the rain we were getting was a whole lot better than the drought our friends in Texas was experiencing.  We got a little heat wave after the rain and even had to turn on the air, but it dropped back down into the 70's this week.  I LOVE the 70's!  The point is, I realize that our little setbacks were just that, little.

In May, I was ready to unveil our robin's nest

Mama and Papa robin had built a nest right under my bedroom window.  We have a toy box that acts as a window seat, sowe all had perfect views of the babies that were soon to come. 

The week I was going to write the piece, the nestlings had finally started hatching.  The girls and I were super excited.  The blue eggs had been beautiful but I was really looking forward to the girls being able to witness baby birds learning to fly.  To be honest, I was really looking forward to me getting to see the birds learn to fly.  I had never had a nest so low that I could see into before.

I was worried about the babies from the beginning because they began to hatch during the two weeks of rain. Instead of hunting for food for them, Mama just kept sitting on them to keep them dry and warm.  It was cool to see the water bead on her wings.  Wednesday dawned, the day I was going to write the little blurb about our closeness with nature.  I looked out the window first thing as I had been doing for several weeks now (yes, you may call me a nerd!) and there was nothing but an empty nest.  I was so sad!  Uncle Birdwatcher has assured me that an animal probably got the nestlings since robins don't normally eat their own young (I was really afraid she had due to their weak state).  So, that was our first brush with the harsh reality of the animal kingdom.

The rain finally ended just in time for the Kirby Karnival, S and A's school carnival. I was sure it would be rained out, but the day dawned not only bright but hot!  We went and had a great time playing games that had Under the Sea themes.  We threw rings onto dolphin noses and bean bags through shark teeth.  The girls painted shells.  S and I played a game to win a fish where you throw a ping pong ball into a bowl.  They gave her two tickets to redeem for two fish when the carnival was over.  I don't know if your 5 year old is like this, but as soon as S thinks that she is going to get something she is done playing and just wants her prize.  She was like that at Disney World also.

Anyway, she wanted her fish and I didn't see any reason to wait since S usually had some sort of toy, be it a plush animal or a figurine-type animal like Littlest Pet Shop, in her hands at all times.  She has been like that since she was a baby.  We keep waiting for her to grow out of it, but I wonder now if she will.  The point is, I didn't mind her carrying the fish around because I knew she would not lose it.   So, we went over to the area indicated by the volunteer who was running the game and I got a SHOCK! They were giving away REAL fish.  I could not believe it.  Needless to say, I did not let her get her fish right away and high-tailed it back to the game area so that I could stop Eric from playing the game with A.  I knew there was no way not to get the two fish we had already won since S had been BEGGING for her own fish/turtle/frog for two years now, but I did not want a whole load of these things.

At the end of our stay at the carnival, which by-the-way was much shorter, I believe, due to the excitement over the new fish, S got to scoop out two fish from the big fish tank and bring them home.

She named them Goldie and Swimmy.  We went straight from the carnival to the pet store and bought one of those bowls.  After a couple of days of 1. having to change water almost everyday and it still being cloudy and 2. feeling guilty because I would hate to have so little room to move around in, I went to a different pet store and bought a 5 gallon tank with filter and installed it in S's room.  As you can see, both girls were quite pleased.

And so, just as I was beginning not to worry about the fish and their well being and the possibility that one or both of them would die because we did get them at a carnival, Goldie died.  S found her one morning stuck under the filter. She cried the entire morning.  I being the wimp that I am, took her to the pet store even getting there 10 min. before it opened to get her another Goldie.  Unfortunately, or fortunately really, but you know, the pet store employee would not sell us a $0.13 comet goldfish because really a 5 gallon tank is two small for even one! Apparently, they are very cheap but can become very large.  Instead of a new Goldie, I just had a very sad girl.  Harsh reality of the animal kingdom strikes again.

S still talks about Goldie and we have checked out all the books on goldfish and aquarium maintenance from our local library.  I have also researched other fish that remain small that might enjoy a five gallon tank just in case we end up at the pet store early one morning, again.

I am not sure that I do love NJ right now, but it sure is helping my daughters and me have those good ol' fashioned life experiences.

Lots of Attention!

S went to school last week and was the talk of the school for a day.  Why? Because I told her teacher about her new dress.

Usually I do not brag about my work (except perhaps to friends, neighbors, sewing circle pals, etc ;) This day, however, I made an exception because I was really bragging about S.  She has been bugging me forever or at least since we bought this fabric to make her a dress.  I did make both girls tunics using this fabric and pink t-shirts, but S has grown out of hers so she was really wanting another.  I told her to draw out the dress she wanted and the dress above was what she drew.  I was really impressed since I had been wanting to make something like this ever since I saw a similar dress made out of knit.

When we went to school and the teacher told her how beautiful her dress was, I made sure to tell her that S had designed it.  At the end of the day, when I picked S up the kids were on the playground.  While I waited for her to finish up playing, I heard at least two groups of adults talking about S's dress and how she had designed it.  I was so proud!!

I just hope her next design is as easy to make ;)

Gotta ♥ NJ

I thought last week that perhaps I would have to scale back the Gotta ♥ series because I was running out of things to love.  You know how once something becomes the norm, it is hard to see the goodness in them.  I mean it is still good, but you lose that wonder or that desire to talk about it because you assume everyone already knows.  That is how Germany went also.  I raved about it for about a year or so and then it just became our lives.  I thought NJ might be losing its sparkle after just a few months.  Then a couple of things happened and I am back to thinking this is a pretty cool place to live.

This week I would like to focus on my redneck side.  I have one, ya know.  I am from Tennessee.  You can't help but have some redneck in you if you are from there.  Nothing over the top, just a little love for things not quite hip.  I've heard that NJ has its fair share of rednecks, but we live in a pretty yuppy town, so we don't see much of that here.  I also assume that NJ rednecks are like those people on Jersey Shore.  I could be way off since I have never seen the show. I am just giving you my impression.  Anyway, I got to let my redneck side out this weekend when E put up the...Tire Swing!! (in the front yard, no less!)

In Texas we had those pesky things called Home Owners Associations (HOA).  I mean, I got "reminders" about my driveway needing a cleaning or the fact that I dared to put a bench in the front of my house (so I could sit and watch my kids play).  The "reminders" were quite annoying.  I, being from TN, totally understood that the point was to keep people from putting cars up on blocks in the front yard or putting out a flock of flamingos (I've always thought that was sort of funny though).  But the HOA took itself a bit too seriously in my opinion.  I mean, limiting the height of play structures in your own backyard. Please.

Where we live now, houses have been here for 50+ years.  People buy them, renovate them, change the neighborhood.  There is no HOA.  And that means that I can have a tire swing in my front yard and that my family and I can INTERACT with neighbors while enjoying our currently wonderful weather.

So, I gotta love NJ for mature trees and no HOA's!!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

Normally, Wednesday means something about New Jersey.  Today, though, we have some special, exciting news. What you may ask. SEWING.  Yes, it has been a long time.  When we moved we had lots to do.  Then, to be honest, I didn't want to make anything that would clutter up my already cluttered house.  I mean there are so many cute things on the web these days like this mini-tent on Sew Mama Sew, but really it is just something else to put in the girls' rooms or heaven forbid, the family room downstairs that I just can't justify making it.  Add to that the cold weather up here that has prevented the girls from wearing dresses and you wipe out almost everything that I sew on a regular basis.

It was hard not sewing because that was one thing that gave me a feeling of accomplishment.  Yes, I do have two beautiful girls and a wonderful husband, but really on a day-to-day basis they are my reason for complaining not for smiling.  Sorry family! That may sound awful, but it is sadly true. After I stopped sewing,  I didn't know how to get back into it.  I had no circle of encouraging friends (nearby) and no real goal.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I pulled out a quilt that I had meant to finish for Father's Day LAST YEAR! I don't remember what prevented that from happening other than a lack of time, but it didn't get done.  Well, I pulled it out and started working on it.  That feeling of peace that comes from sewing finally came back to me.  Yay! I started looking on the blogs again.  I even found some inspiration.

So yesterday, while the girls were at school, I stopped working on the quilt (so hoping to get it done for this Father's Day) and made a book caddy for A's room.  Her room is really one of the worst in the house.  It is so small. (It would be a great sewing room.  In fact, if we stay here that long, I see the girls moving downstairs and me having that room ;)) It doesn't help that we still have the changing table from Germany which is larger than an American changing table.  We also still need a chair in there for story time. With S we just sit on her bed, but A is still in the crib.  There is also a HUGE play kitchen in there that worked great in our big Texas house, but not so well here.  The girls still love it though (seriously probably the best gift we have ever given either of them!) Anyway, the point is she has so much and her room looks awful. There is no room for a bookshelf, but she is soooooo into being read to right now.

I saw a book caddy on a blog that utilized those curtain rods that have two parallel rods.  It looked great and was mounted along side the bed.  I would link to it here, but I have no idea where I saw it now.  I didn't want to buy anything else and I didn't really want to put anymore holes in the wall either. So, I made it a little differently and mounted it to the side of the crib.  I do see A getting out of the crib sometime in the future and if we still like the caddy then we can do the curtain rod thing.  However, with this design we only have to get a curtain rod that has one rod.  I assume that is cheaper.

Here is the the caddy without books...

 And this is it with the books in it.  Due to the design there is a good 6" of unused area that the straps take up.  On the original, that did not happen because there was no need for straps.  However, I like that all the materials were in my sewing room.  I especially appreciate that as there is no Joann's or Hobby Lobby around here.  I have been told though that there is a Fabric World "nearby" but I haven't checked it out yet.

Hopefully, this is the first of many new projects.  But no promises!

Gotta ♥ NJ

This post is actually an apology.  In my last Gotta ♥ NJ post, I hinted that this spring was not going to be warm and inviting.  I now have to say that I was wrong.  Not only is this turning out to be a gorgeous spring, it is a nice warm one also.  The girls even wore short sleeves and shorts to school today.

This post is a little later than normal because I went out this morning to take a picture of one or more of the lovely trees and bushes surrounding us so that you far away folks could appreciate what I am saying.  This idea did not come to fruition because my memory card was in my computer instead of my camera where it was suppose to be.  That means you will have to take my word for it when I say that it is beautiful here. I can not figure out what trees with white blossoms line Main Street, but they are plentiful and pretty.  Around our circle we are enjoying forsythia bushes, magnolia trees, and dogwoods.  There are many more that I can not identify.

So, if you can't guess, I gotta love New Jersey for its spring.  It is made all the more precious by the winter.  I also must mention that the kids are enjoying the heretofore unknown experience of having windows in the house opened as well as driving with the windows down.  It is really like a whole new world!

Gotta ♥ NJ

It is cold here.  Did you know?  I actually like having four seasons.  I like a bit of snow each year. So far, I am not deterred by 50F in April.  I, of course, have not had to endure a full winter.  I have not had to walk my child to school in the snow or freezing rain.  There has not been a power outage, yet.

With that said, I gotta love NJ because it is making me realize the merits of...the beach.  I am not a beach person.  I hate the heat.  I hate the sand.  Not the sand at the beach, but the sand that comes home with you and takes up residence in every crevice of clean clothes, fresh shoes, and crisp bedsheets.  Despite my misgivings, I still joined those who headed to the beach for Spring Break.  I pushed my stroller through Disney World.  I watched sand castle construction and destruction.  I even enjoyed myself.  I am a person who has to see differences to appreciate them.  This Spring Break, after months of snow and cold, I took advantage of the heat of Florida to get out, get the girls out.  I relished many moments knowing that the NJ Spring was awaiting us at home.

The girls with Belle.  Belle and Cinderella were the only characters A would get near.

The girls and I on Dumbo.  This ride was a favorite!

So, I gotta love NJ because it has finally made me appreciate the beach.  I have a lot of friends and some family that can all chorus, "Finally."  It only took 37 years and a NJ winter.

Taking a Break

Had to take a break! Between an unending sinus infection, taxes, and Disney World, I have no time.

However, I will share what I recently found out. I don't have to pay taxes on clothes!! Yay.

See you in a few weeks.