thursday randoms

move along, move along…nothing to see here…

just a random collection of things…

o1) today’s prayers
prayers and thoughts for those in boston.

i don’t wish to seem glib by leaving it there…but really, what more is there to say?

o2) today’s sewing
my simple shirred sundress tutorial has been making the pinterest rounds lately. i do love that look, and it is quite easy.

one person asked if the buttonholes on the back cut the elastic thread and made it unravel.
a good question, and the answer is no, not for me. i’m assuming the tightness of the buttonhole stitching is enough to catch the ends of the elastic thread and keep them secure, even though they run perpendicular to one another (whoa math terms).

o3) today’s sales
another reader asked about the doll bed quilt and pillow i’d made for elliot…if i had plans to put them in my etsy shop.

i don’t…however, if someone is interested in a straight commission i’d be happy to work with you. email me at talktothemomma (at) gmail (dot) com.

o4) today’s film petits
did you see today’s film petit? oh how i love this series—skirt as top and a little gray join forces once a month with a guest to create children’s looks based on awesome films. not children’s films—just awesome films. this month is BACK TO THE FUTURE. and it’s as awesome as you’d think.

 image via

hey ladies, i’m sure you don’t want to overdo the 80’s, but i’m thinking…pretty in pink????

o5) today’s goodbye
so google reader is becoming a thing of the past in july. sniff, sniff…let’s all take a moment and shed a tear. or not. anyway, i’ve added links to bloglovin’ and another blog reader canopi over thar--------->>> in the sidebar.
because i know you wouldn’t want to miss a hot second of the genius that is googiemomma.

o6) today’s poetry + today’s plans
i went into the wood because i wished to live deliberately. yeah, i’m getting all thoreau up in here. but i had this sudden vision of our family—just the mister and i and our googies, alone in the woods. it was a fairly specific vision—a cabin, air, space, no neighbors, no electronics and lots of frog hunting, game playing and marshmallow burning. so i turned to the internets and found my cabin.

image via

it’s tiny and secluded and that creek looks ripe with frogs for hunting, does it not? we don’t have a date nailed down just yet, but i’ve been in contact with the owner and the googies will be headed there. soon. and we’ll live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life. sounds good, right?

o7) today’s mush
monday was april 15th. a big day for taxes, yes. but also a big day in the googiehaus. eleven years ago that was my due date with the little man (he came on the 12th like a good boy). and 15 years ago it was the day mr. googiedaddy took me to a scenic bridge while our friends hid in the woods and asked me to marry him. spoiler alert: i said yes.
like any oblivious momma i totally lost track of the days, so when i came out of gigi’s ballet class on monday to find flowers and a card on my windshield, my first thought was uh-oh, someone mistook my car for someone else’s. but it wasn’t. it was him, remembering what i had forgotten, planning and in cahoots with our kids and a friend to leave behind the regular plans for the day—cleaning, organizing, scrubbing—and return to the bridge.

it’s since been rebuilt—the rusty, rickety thing of our past a shiny new concrete thing. but it was our bridge all the same. and he kept the tradition alive…

he liked it, so he put a ring on it.

something to stand in place of the ring i haven’t been able to wear for…oh..2 or 3 babies. something not too expensive, but shiny and blingy and a link to him. a way to say “i’m taken!”…not because i get hit on lots and lots (ha!) but because i am, and i love that i am, and i want the world to know i am.

i didn’t realize just how much i missed having a wedding ring on my finger until this one was on there.

he’s a good man. and methinks we should visit that bridge more often.

enjoy your thursday.

friday randoms

o1) let’s start with the heavy stuff, first.
thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your emails and comments on my post.

here’s the thing: so many of you said “i know what you’re feeling because i’m feeling it too. but i can’t/won’t/don’t know how to say it.”
listen to the momma: i can NOT stress enough what a difference it makes putting it out there. is it scary? YES. 150 times YES. but the simple act of revealing it—saying out loud or on paper and knowing someone else knows your “secret” is unbelievably liberating.

unbelievably.

i’m not really a talker. let me qualify that: i LOVE to talk. about the weather, about sewing, about funny stuff my kids do, vacations, jokes. i babble incessantly. i’ll even talk to you about your issues and depression and problems and try my darndest to give you some sage advice. but ask me about my problems? i’m like a clam.
i blame my german gene pool.

but i can write. i can do that. and then i hold my breath and i hit “publish” and there’s no going back. (well, yes, technically there is. but you know what i mean)

saying i don’t seem to be doing well right now feels like—almost instantly—a weight is lifting off of my shoulders and suddenly SUDDENLY i’m doing better. acknowledging it to first, myself, and secondly allowing someone else to share that knowledge makes it real. it forces me to stand up and take stock and say this is NOT the road i want to go down and so i have to choose a new path. RIGHT. NOW.

so should everyone run out and fill their blogs with sad tales of woe and depression? not necessarily. it’s the route i took. but do something—talk to someone, anyone. write it down—if not on a blog at the very least write it on paper and give to your husband, your mother, your BFF and let them read it.

get it out there. let someone know. you won’t regret it.

phew. okay, moving on.

o2) got a winner for the crochet pattern giveaway! woo hoo!

congrats, charlotte! yes, number one DOES win sometimes! looks like your grandson is getting his dragon hat now ;)

o3)

i’ve also got a winner for the Venus/Blogher $50 gift card giveaway!

congrats to you too ms. jenspurg! you’ll be hearing directly from blogher regarding your prize.

(p.s.—i’ve hidden all the comments from this contest since so many emails were listed)

o4) guinevere started cyberschool tuesday. she’s been so excited to start, and even though we’re only 2 days in we both love it so far. i fully intend to post more detail about it once we get some more cybering under our belts. in the meantime, this year’s “first day of school” pictures look like this:

yup. she wore slippers to take her younger brother and sister to school. like a little extra twist of the knife.

and then the rest of the pictures looked like this:

awww…look how much they love each other. ;)

o5) every. stinkin. time. i’m walking around the house thinking oh! i need to blog about that! oh! and this too! oh yeah, and this random thing! and then i have an entire mental list, so i decide to do a “random things” post and about 4 “random things” in i have a complete brain fart and totally forget EVERYTHING ELSE i wanted to say. ugh.

o6) i got fabric for harrison’s suit. i wanted something cheap so if i mess up it’s no biggie. a muslin, basically. but nice enough that if it comes out okay on the first shot he can wear it. $2/yard suiting and $1/yard striped lining from jomar fit the bill nicely. now i just have to wait for the pattern.

o7) i’ve got another awesome giveaway coming up next week. here’s a clue: my face is smooth as a baby’s butt, and you can have a butt face too if you win. ;)

friday randoms, again. and googiemomma+

o1) gigi absolutely LOVES peanuts. in the shell.



apparently she cracks them with her toes.

and even though when she gets a bowl it makes a complete huge mess, i can’t seem to help myself giving them to her.
for some reason i find it completely giggle inducing to watch a three year old eat a bowl of peanuts like an old man. (because in my head unshelled peanut eating belongs to old men. and bars.)

o2) i’ve been doing some crocheting. while the kids were sick i got done two hats—one a gift, one for elliot.
next up: the cupcake beanie from all things bright and beautiful (as featured at ucreate)

Source: u-createcrafts.com via Shannon on Pinterest

can you picture that with a big crochet cherry on top? and maybe some embroidered sprinkles????
i’m considering trying this scarf too.

Source: peoplewebs.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

isn’t it pretty?
and here’s the thing—i swore—SWORE—i would NEVER attempt to do a knit or crochet blanket. i know me—i lose interest WAY TO QUICKLY. i can barely sew 4 edges around a fleece blanket without getting distracted.
but this:

Source: allthingsbrightandbeautifulcrafts.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

COME. ON.
a LEGO crocheted blanket? my little man NEEDS this.

o3) in case you’re curious, miss P (from yesterday’s post) came through her surgery well. it’s not the last she’ll face, but it was a big one.

o4) i did the girls’ picture for their room, finally. that post will be up next week.

o5) and finally, miss elliot crawls like a worm. (i think i mentioned that?) seriously. the girl just needs a piece of cardboard and she'll bust a move.

for your viewing enjoyment: the first googiemomma Home Movie Screening


Shannon Kline on