Dying Easter Eggs for the First-ish Time

Last week was the second time that Edith had dyed Easter eggs, but the first time I had as an adult. Last Easter was out of the ordinary -- Atticus had been born three days before, and we didn't color eggs before his arrival. When my in-laws arrived on that Sunday with a full holiday meal, they also brought supplies to color eggs with Edith outside. I was told she had fun, although I stayed inside with our newborn.

I almost skipped it again this year, although I'm glad now that I didn't. I did, however, skip the egg-dying kits and opted for this recipe: 1/2 cup of boiling water, 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 10-20 drops of food coloring. The eggs were vibrant enough for my tastes.

Edith first colored the eggs with crayons, but of course the dye was the star of the show. She mostly just liked spooning the colored water over the eggs. Only a toddler could stretch out coloring a dozen eggs into an activity that probably lasted a couple of hours!

She had so much fun, I'm wondering if we shouldn't color eggs a few times a year just for the heck of it. Always during the week before we plan to eat egg salad, of course.

(PS: Easter is over, but I have to mention a quick quirk of Atticus's birth. How many kids can say they celebrated Easter twice before their first birthday?)

Photo Friday: Edith the Artist

Edith and a friend learned a tough lesson earlier this month -- when you color on the walls, you have to help clean it up!

March 9, 2016

Adventures in Dyeing a 10-Year-Old Coat

One of my very favorite coats hasn't been looking so bright and shiny. No wonder -- it's about a decade old. Normal wear and tear on a jacket I frequently  use in the spring is to be expected, I know. But even though I still regularly get compliments on the jacket, I didn't feel so great wearing it anymore.

Luckily, the fabric itself has worn nicely. And luckily that's what I love most about it. The color (mint green meets sky blue) was nice, but it was the light flower pattern that I really enjoyed.

So on a whim I tried dyeing the coat. Last week I went into Michaels craft store for buttons but came out with a container of Rit wine-colored dye. On Friday evening, I gave it a shot.

Although you can dye clothing in a washing machine, I was too afraid of the side effects of dumping dye straight into an expensive appliance. So instead I emptied out a large container, fit it into the super old double sink in our laundry room and went to work.

After 20 minutes of stirring and some additional time rinsing it, followed by a run through the washer and dryer, this was the outcome.

Love it! There are a couple of small splotches (possibly unnoticed before the dye job, or maybe caused by uneven stirring or the fact that I added the splash of detergent to the dye mixture too late!), but I'm seriously pleased with the result. Here's hoping the coat lasts another 10 years!

Photo Friday: And He Eventually Made It to the Top

March 8, 2016

Alone Together with Atticus

A friend texted me yesterday morning with a proposal I couldn't refuse: a last-minute play date between Edith and her daughter while I got some alone time with Atticus.

It dawned on me -- I've had quite a bit of time alone with him at home, either while Edith is asleep or out with Daddy. But I'm not sure if Atticus and I have ever been out alone together. We went to baby lap time at the library, something we often do with Edith. But this time he got my undivided attention.

It was strange looking out for only one kid. And so easy!

Paul and I have both taken Edith on errands and adventures alone. I didn't realize until yesterday that Atticus should have a chance to see the world (or at least our pocket of Columbus) without being in anyone's shadow as well.

Photo Friday: I See You

Feb. 25, 2016

Garage Door Drama

Coats on, ready to go. I pressed the button on our garage door opener.

But the door opened only about two inches, and only on the left side. I punched the button a few more times, same result. We were stuck.

Paul went in the side door of the garage, and a quick inspection proved that a spring had busted. And he couldn't force the door open by himself either. We really were stuck.

Of course, this happened on Sunday, about five minutes before I was scheduled to arrive for my monthly Sunday School duties. The car was out. The bike needed air in its tires. So I texted the Sunday School coordinator that I would be late, loaded Edith into the stroller and walked the mile to church as fast as I could. I got there in 15 or 20 minutes, found that the middle-school classroom assistant handled things beautifully and got on with the morning.

The weather was chilly but not all that bad. Edith and I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few essentials for the week -- stroller baskets can hold a surprising amount of food. When we got home about three hours after we took off, Atticus was sleeping in Paul's arms and a garage door repairman was already explaining our options to Paul. We're scheduled to get a new door and spring system this week. (And the repairman and Paul strong-armed the door open so we could get out our cars and park them in the driveway until that happens.)

Sunday morning was annoying, but it could have been worse. Luckily it was the weekend. And even more fortuitously, the broken spring or wire or whatever it was didn't snap across the garage, damaging our cars or worse, a person. We had been having garage door issues for a while and even had someone out to inspect it recently to no avail. All things considering, we got off easy.

Photo Friday: Relaxing on a Friday Morning

Feb. 19, 2016

Our Lost Week of Sickness

Before Edith was born, I was sick for all of April due to morning sickness. When I was pregnant with Atticus, it was the entire month of September. I consider these my "lost months," when all I did was watch TV and try not to puke.

Last week reminded me a lot of those times. As a family, we had a lost week.

It started on Tuesday. I was making lunch when Edith came over to me in the kitchen and told me her belly hurt. About 15 seconds later she hurled all over the cabinet, the floor, her clothes and my feet. Thus started four hours of misery for poor Edith. She puked about every 20 minutes and then took a two hour nap. When she awoke, she was her same old self, only hungrier.

I texted Paul to warn him what he was about to return home to. He replied that he, too, wasn't feeling well and was about to come home early.  Thus started TWO days of misery for poor Paul. He stayed home from work for a day, a rarity for him.

By Thursday, it was my turn. Luckily, I just felt lousy but wasn't actually physically sick. (The telltale sign that I'm not well -- even peanut butter didn't sound good.) I was a bit under the weather for a good day or two, but nothing like Edith or Paul.

And Atticus? He's been his same cheery self. No harm, no foul for that lucky, lucky boy.