Where's the tape?

Hollis as an artistic little boy. His kindergarten teacher just couldn't stop saying how impressed she is with his drawing abilities and his attention span. We've all been complimenting him, and I think it's gone to his head.

The muse has turned to installation art. First, he decorated our front door with a wreath, some pumpkins, and ten spiders. In the MIDDLE of November, might I add.
Then, he brought a load of his school artwork home and taped it all over the kids' bedroom door. He also made a very impressive banner of his name to hang off the front of the bunk bed. I couldn't get a good picture of that, because it's in front of the window and I'm lazy.


Now, every time I turn my back, there's something new on the walls. He must have decided that we needed to have weaponry available quickly at all times, so he made wall holsters for the wooden sword and knife.I'm thinking to get the boy a roll of butcher paper and a six-pack of tape for Christmas.

Win this Corset!

My dear friend Lucy''s brother Jon and his wife Clara have a new baby girl named Josephine who was born with Trisomy 18. To read more about Trisomy 18 and Josephine, see Clara's blog. To help with her medical expenses, Lucy and her cousin are holding a benefit auction on Ebay. I'm donating a custom blue Vixen corset, so go check it out. It's a great deal on an awesome bodice, and you'll help a precious baby and her family. Neat, no?

The auction is here. Thanks!

Box 'em and ship'em.

Did you know that Ivy will fit into a box that originally held three yards of home-dec fabric?

I'm still trying to get up the nerve to buy some hooch to make my homemade vanilla (Mellie is the winner--Hey out there!) And by the way, if anyone out there hasn't seen Good Eats with Alton Brown, you are missing out. It's about my two favorite things: food and nerd. Toby and I have frittered away many a lazy hour watching AB make edibles on YouTube. It's kind of a bedtime ritual around here.

Oh, and if anyone out there went to school with Amanda H., you must read her sister Katie's Happy Birthday tribute. Just make sure you pee first. And don't be drinkin' milk, either.

I must add to that my own Amanda story. When she came home from her mission, she gave a talk in church. She was telling us about getting to the MTC and feeling like she shouldn't be there. Her specific words were: "SCREW the dang MTC, I'm going home!" The bishop's eyebrows shot up so high, I thought they would leave his head entirely. We miss you, Amanda, and Happy Birthday!

MMMmmmm...vanilla.

I found a seller on Ebay that's selling vanilla beans crazy-cheap. I am now the proud owner of a pound of vanilla beans for the price of about ten bought locally. This year for Christmas presents, I'll be making something with them. Stay tuned.

By the way, did anyone out there have Strawberry Shortcake dolls when small? Vanilla beans smell EXACTLY like a Strawberry Shortcake doll. The toy makers did a pretty good job of making the dolls smell lovely. It's very nostalgic for me.

For tomorrow, try to guess why a nice Mormon girl, or even a not-so-nice one, is planning to buy a lot of vodka!

Halloween in Fairview.

I love Halloween. Part of the reason we've enjoyed hanging out with Renfest types so often is because I love an excuse to dress up. Modern clothes can be cute and comfortable, but as for just killer STYLE, give me Victorian or Regency era any day. I'm a girl who wishes it was still required to wear hats when one leaves the house.

But Fairview is really killing my Halloween buzz. We didn't have plans for the big day, but made them fast when our first group of trick-or-treaters made an appearance. A group of punky fourteen to eighteen year old kids, without costumes, rang our doorbell and requested candy. One of them was actually SMOKING. Come on, kid. Unless you tell me you're Anthony Bourdain, no candy for you!

Just in case any of you were thinking of moving to Effing-view!

Land of the Midnight Vomit

Last night was the FOURTH night both Ivy and Maggie have been sick late at night. It's getting a bit tedious. They act just fine all day, then puke at about midnight. I am so behind with laundry right now, because I'm washing all the bedding in the house every day. And something in our bedroom smells like death, even though we've taken out the trash...I'm dreading that unpleasant discovery.

Now I must drag myself upstairs to sew some corsets so we can pay our bills.

Addendum: Source of death-smell found: dead mouse under computer desk.

Ahem.

Since we are no good at keeping secrets, I'll just throw it out there. We will be having a baby the end of June next year. We've told Livvie, so putting it on the internet is the other fastest way for word to get about.

Don't hate me, but I don't get uber-morning sick. I have brief but intense moments of nausea, which are trickiest when I'm trying to swallow a mouthful of food or brush my teeth. My thing is being sooo tired that I can fall asleep effortlessly, with all my clothes on, by just thinking about sitting down. I think I have pregnancy induced narcolepsy. I've slept two nights fully clothed, with my glasses on.

Did I mention what a hot man I married? The type who'll clean up nasty puke when I'm pregnant and gagging at the mere thought of vomit. We've had a nasty stomach making its way around the family, so he's done it about eight times in the last two days.