The Knightess of Baramere

So, I did finish the Easter dress. Barely. It could still do with a lining and I'd really like to make it a bit longer, but essentially it's done. Though this picture doesn't actually show any of the work that I did other than the hem.



This is what Joey looked like on Easter day. You can't actually see the strawberry stains that she acquired about an hour after putting it on, which is fine by me.

Their game progressed as follows... Joey and Randa were throwing balls at each other, eventually capes and other accessories were added and an all out *battle* ensued. Joey was the Knightess of Baramere and Randa was the Poo-Berry, wearing a pooh bear blanket as a cape. So I'm not sure if that's poo or pooh.

Funny either way.

In case you can't tell, that's a vacuum tool as Joey's sword and the lid to a box held on with rubber bands as her shield.

Covering Our Tracks

Here is a post for grown ups. If you are a kid, you should go ask one of your parents to read through this first. Actually, if you're a kid, you probably shouldn't be reading my blog anyway, because sometimes I curse and use bad grammar.



So go... scoot.



Last year, there was snow on the ground Easter morning. And we didn't want the younger kids to recognize our shoe prints. (Sometimes the kids are completely oblivious and other times they're really on the ball.)



So, mad geniuses that we are (not actually sure who's idea it was), we decided to rubber band some cardboard, bunny feet to our shoes. It worked until the cardboard started getting soggy, at which point they fell off.



It was fun while it lasted, though.



If we ever needed to do this again, I'd probably use plastic, maybe from a container of milk, though I suppose that would be rather dangerous in a slippery sort of way.



And I'm sure you all could have guessed it, but not one of the kids noticed the bunny prints. Oh well, like I said sometimes they're oblivious.

We Really Did It!

Friday was a very good day.

We showed up at St. Baldrick's with plenty of time to see the Avalanche players who were getting shaved, which, for me and Joey, was a very big deal. It was such a big deal to me in fact, that when I walked up to them to ask them to sign our shirts, I completely lost my mind.

I had thought briefly about what I wanted to say, "We're getting our heads shaved too. Would you sign the back of my shirt? We're huge fans." You know, normal stuff. But the moment I started speaking, complete gibberish came out of my mouth. I used all the words I had intended, just not in the right order.

What I said to Liles was, "Would you shave my shirt?"

Um yah. Really.

I guess it could have been worse. I could have asked him to shave my back. Anyway, they were still nice enough to not only sign the back of my shirt, but pose for a picture with Joey. It's a small miracle that the picture wasn't more blurry.

That is Tony Granato, John-Michael Liles, Ian Laperriere and Ben Guite, oh yah, and my daughter, too. I know that most of you probably have no idea who these guys are, but I was star-struck. In fact, I'd rather meet Ian Laperriere than Brad Pitt. His nose isn't as pretty, but there are more important things than pretty noses.

Did I mention that the only reason we still have TV is to watch Av's games? We were set to get rid of it and then Forsberg and Foote came back. Oh well, maybe after the playoffs.

OK, so just as a frame of reference, here's what we looked like the week before. We wore these somewhat inappropriate shirts to get donations. When you wear these, people walk up to you and ask to give you money.


Can you believe Aurora's hair?! (And see, I told you about mine.)

St. Baldrick's was loud and crowded and when it was our turn to get shaved, everybody cheered.


Aurora immediately started crying (because she does that).



I just couldn't stop grinning.



Isn't Jenny adorable?



First, they cut off our piggy tails and braids and then they went to work with the clippers.





So, here's the deal. If you wanna see ALL of the pictures from Friday, you'll have to pony up over at St. Baldrick's. Then I'll send you links to the actual baldy pictures.

'Cause I'm mean like that.



For those of you who've already donated, I should be emailing those links out shortly. Aurora, Jenny and I all thank you so much for your generosity!

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I've been sort of consumed lately with projects around the house. I've been busy painting Randa's room and the kitchen and I've been mucking through and organizing the play and craft rooms. I've also been trying to decide on fabric for new shades for just about every window we have. We haven't changed them since we moved in 4 years ago and I really hate what's up right now. I'm also almost finished with Joey's Easter dress. Oh yah, and I've been Feng Shui-ing the hell out of this place.

It feels like I'm pregnant and nesting, but I know that I'm not. (Seriously. I'm not.) It's just that feeling that I can do nothing but paint and sew and clean and get rid of extra crap.

There's lots going on, and I've been taking pictures of the disasters in progress (which is how I do this sort of thing- I'm a tornado trashing and cleaning everything in my path until one day, it starts to fall into place), so hopefully I can get them posted one of these days.

Unlike Aurora, I haven't even found time to blog, much less to pine for my soon to be gone tresses. Though 'tresses' might be stretching it- with my hair this long I look a lot like Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich.


Any pictures that I've shown of my long hair have been snapped immediately after much brushing, curling, etc. I hope Locks of Love doesn't send it back.

Anyway, the reason I sat down at the computer was to talk one last time about St. Baldrick's before I go under the knife (OK, just clippers, but still). Which, by the way, will be at 8:45 tomorrow morning.

We're really doing this in honor of two people. The first is my mom (thus the team name) and the second is a little girl named Alyssa Rose Hemmelgarn. My mom died on March 15th, 1997. Alyssa passed away on March 8th, 2007 at the age of 9, just 10 days after she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Yes, I said 10 days.

Just thinking of that gives me a lump in my throat and makes me feel ill. Before she had any idea she was sick, Alyssa had grown out her hair for 2 years to donate to Locks of Love. Three months after she cut it off, she was gone.

A week or so ago, Joey was reading over my shoulder as I typed up an email about Alyssa and St. Baldrick's. She quietly went to her room and returned with $30 of her own money. It was about half the money that she'd managed to save up for a Wii and she wanted to donate it to help fight childhood cancer.

Knowing that we've managed to raise a kid who could do that makes me more proud than I can say.

Guest Blogger- Joey

well my mom can't blog at the moment because she's been busy working on my easter dress and painting my sister's room so i will blog for her.
-joey

This is something that happened on a beautiful march 1.



So my stuffed animals had an accident and so they all had to get shots and go to the hospital in a
ambulance (laundry hamper).
I don't actually know how it happened. i wasn't there, but i have a theory they were messing with the fan.



And now they're sleeping under mom's table which is the hospital for kids.


tomorrow I'll take off their casts.


and in some cases bandages.

Some Thoughts on Happiness

The key to your happiness and contentment lies within you,
within your own heart and mind.
The way you start each day is very important;
you can start off on the right foot or the wrong one.
You can wake up with a song of joy and gratitude in your heart for the new day,
for being alive, for the very wonder of living,
and for being in tune and harmony with the rhythm of all life.
You can expect the very best from the coming day and therefore draw it to you.
Or you can start the day with a chip on your shoulder,
disgruntled and out of rhythm.
You are responsible for what today will bring,
and knowing it gives you an even greater responsibility
than those souls who are not aware of it and therefore know no better.
You cannot blame your state of mind on anyone else.
It all starts with you.

-Eileen Caddy (from The Spirit of Findhorn)

Sandy

My mom passed away almost 11 years ago on March 15th, just 16 days before her 50th birthday. She had breast cancer. I was 22 at the time, the oldest of her four kids.

So, obviously, she's no longer around to give motherly advice. Sometimes I think that's why Jenny and I rely so much on each other. We each fill that mom roll to the other. Weird. I know. But, it seems to work. We just take turns, depending on who needs to be the kid most at the time.

Our mom doesn't answer the phone when I call and she can't come over for dinner. We can't talk about how I was as a child or the similarities between me and Joey.

Until recently, I also happened to believe that she was no longer available for craft projects.

I was wrong. Because she did manage to make an Easter dress.



Thanks to the fact that my mom had as many unfinished projects as I do, I recently discovered an almost entirely completed, yellow, smocked dress. I have no idea who she started it for, but I know that it now belongs to Joey.

Looking at this makes me feel at peace.

Honestly.

It makes me cry, but they're happy tears. When I look at this, I don't feel angry or bitter that she's gone. I feel like she's right here with me. I feel like an adult and a kid, a mother and a child... all in the same instant.

And I know that everything is OK.

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