Investing in Moments that Matter

I don't know about all of you, but the weather in upstate NY this March has been amazing. I'm considering that March came in like a lion due to rain and thunder on the 29th that led to snow the next day. So, I'm expecting it to leave like a lamb for sure, but to think the entire middle of the month could be a lamb too? What a gift!

Needless to say, we are all hit with spring fever....about two months early. R11 had some of her dolls out yesterday for a photo shoot in the yard. She had asked me if it was ok to do some blogging about their adventures if she could do the post as her writing assignment for the day. Given that I'm trying to get R11 to make friends with her blog, of course I said yes. Besides, who can resist dolls out for an afternoon?

Inspired by this doll blog, we tried a new hair do on Felicity.

She also changed from her wool riding outfit to her spring pinner apron dress.

Tools for the trade...according to the book, orthodontic rubber bands are just right. I9 to the rescue! He was more than happy to donate his.

A while ago R11 received the doll hair kit as a gift.

After writing her blog post, she let me help her edit it. You can see the final result in the photo shoot link above.

Well uh...sure I can try that one. Who needs the DVD when you can read the manual?

Samantha is in progress here...face mask rubber bands working excellently...

The finished pony tail veil...did I miss my calling or WHAT?

Addy's hair needed some attention so I carefully combed it and re-did her big braid. It's pretty close...

I can't tell you how delighted R11 was that I spent time with her yesterday and today playing dolls and helping her fix a few up-dos. I'm pretty excited she did some cute doll blogging with some writing. What a therapeutic time for both of us investing in our relationship and it was cool that her brothers got to help out here and there. Some seasons at our house are busier than others, but I am thankful for the time we have to savor small moments.

Wiring for the Doll House

R11 has been reading some sewing and craft blogs lately. In fact, unless there is a compelling Wii game to play, this is how she spends her screen time. Recently, she decided she wants to make a lamp for her doll house. Dan helped her with supplies. They purchased two LED bulbs and they went to work. She didn't want a store bought switch- she wanted to make her own. Have you seen her latest doll house exploits? She's been adding a ton of things and recently I helped her to clean her creative space and founds a lot more she's made- like snow shovels and cups and plates. Amazing!

This one is a little table which will have a lamp on top.

Another lamp- notice the underside of the shade is foil- so they LED will reflect the light down.

She made the switches with brads and she's had trouble with the circuit. Enter J6's new Christmas mult-meter. They tested the batteries and sure enough...one was bad.

This goes right along with our study of Thomas Edison right now. I'll update when the lamps are in place. Oh yes...did I mention J6 asked for a multi-meter for Christmas? More on this and his constantly moving brain soon.

Tea Time

R10 recently welcomed a new American Girl doll into her doll family. She'd been saving for a doll since her last birthday in June. She was all set to get Ruthie when she realized Elizabeth was still available!

Felicity was delighted to see Elizabeth for tea!

Elizabeth makes the 8th doll in her historical doll collection...five of which she has purchased herself. I, for one, am impressed with her saving power. Welcome Elizabeth!

Sewing Rooms: Doll House Style

We are continuing on slowly with our Year of the Doll House. We attended a doll house show in late August and had a great time seeing all the fun houses and ideas. I thought sure I had posted about that, but as I went to link it, I see that it's not there...hmmm. I may have to post it again! In the meantime, trust me, we had a grand time seeing all kinds of houses and getting ideas.

Any house of R10's will need a sewing room! Here are some ideas we have so far...

R10's house which underwent a major renovation almost three years ago now. It was constructed so that it could handle Barbie furniture as well- when she was 2. The Barbie thing never took so we are back to doll house families!

How cute is this sewing room? I love the fabric stash. We have an idea for putting that together.

This house had a spinning wheel- we love the fabric basket!

This was a nice little room with shelves for the fabric. It's an attic room like R10's. 

A close up of R10's sewing room- we are still working on the sewing machine and we'll have to get the dress form too.

I've been on the look out for a doll house sewing machine that is more modern, but most of them are too pricey for our folly. So, now I'm going to see about making our own. We can make a nice machine out of Sculpey I think and set it on a table in her house. The old fashioned models are lovely and R10 has used a hand crank machine herself at her sewing co-op (which she really enjoyed using!), however the furniture is not in the same style as the rest of the house.

Anyone else still pursuing doll house fun? Tell us about it!

The Year of the Dollhouse - The Journal Adventure

As promised, here is the first post on The Year of the Dollhouse- The Journal Adventure. We've just been getting started the past few weeks. R10 has been setting up house and we went on a field trip which I will share next (almost forgot!). The idea is to just have a chance to talk about keeping house while being creative and connecting through journaling. So far, it's been quite fun and it's just getting going.

The journal- a dollar store original she helped to pick out. We write back and forth leaving it in places where the other will find it. We don't make a huge deal about, but it's been meaningful so far.

The sewing room which is upstairs in the attic. She's all set with the ironing board, the Cheval mirror and a trunk (which I'm certain will have loads of fabric in it!). We need to be on the lookout for a sewing machine and dress form. Notice the dress laid out on the trunk.

Today she pointed me to the baby's room. Such a sweet nursery for the dolls.

R10 has been really excited to do this and the last time I pulled out her old dollhouse things, she didn't want them all but now she does. I used to give them to her every so often in our first round of The Year of the Dollhouse, but this time I gave her the whole box. Some furniture is inherited from my niece (the Fisher Price dollhouse from the mid-90s). That same niece is heading to college tomorrow. Wow. (have a good trip Kim!) Some of the furniture we bought new for this house. R10 has had this dollhouse since she was 2 and it's undergone some renovation that she helped with during Year of the Dollhouse Part 1.

Molly's Arrival

R8 is a good saver and she loves to save her allowance for American Girl dolls. She saved for Felicity and Kaya on her own. This time she had decided to get Molly. Last week we finally got to order and she arrived on Wednesday.

Molly meets the girls

The girls invited her right on in...

I'm not sure who's next. R8 prefers the historical dolls so she has Addy, Josefina, and Julie left to get other than friend dolls. I think Elizabeth or maybe Ruthie would be her first choices in friend dolls. I did let her know that if they come out with an 80s historical doll (Julie is the 70s doll) that we'll have to get that one next! She's decided Kit would make a great "Today Doll" for her because she has a blonde bob too!

I remember when we were gearing up to purchase the first doll- Kirsten. There was much concern over R8's brothers- particularly her littlest one being kind to the doll. I have to say though that her three brothers give the AG dolls a lot of respect. J3's bed is right to the left of the dolls. When he saw Molly he made sure to name the whole collection. As long as he knows who he is dealing with he's cool. So far no trips to the AG doll hospital.

I know what you're thinking, but these beat large plastic accessories for Barbies or Polly Pockets!! These girls don't take up much room. R8 has some accessories and clothing (these make great gift ideas), but she likes the dolls themselves best.

Plus, and I will admit it, I don't discourage the collection one bit. That is "mommy of one girl and three boys prerogative". I'm just sayin'.

The Doll People Trilogy

I know many of you have probably heard of or maybe have even read The Doll People and its sequels, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention what a great adventure these books have been. You don't want to miss these. With three boys and a girl I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but the books are a good tale and my boys have loved them equally with my daughter. My 6yo has really enjoyed hearing about the excitement the dolls experience. So, how can you go wrong there when a 6yo superhero crazy boy wants to hear more??

The premise of the book is how the dolls live a secret life which humans do not know about. This is not an uncommon theme, but the authors do a great job of making it fun. The dolls must take the oath when they are made to uphold The Doll Code of Honor. Action figures never take the oath because they are destructive and Barbies never take the oath either (though I don't think a reason was offered). If the dolls do not heed the code and a human sees them they are in "doll state" for 24 hours-turning to a lifeless doll physically though they still have thought while being still. But there is also PDS- Permanent Doll State which all the dolls in doll kind fear. Each book has it's own adventure. We began the last in the series last night.

I sure hope these ladies want to continue the story. How disappointing it is when you come to the end of a great tale!

Updates in Home Decor

Remember back in January when we were working on R8's dollhouse? Well she and I have occasionally been adding to the decor. It is not in the neatest condition today, but I simply had to take a picture. Her doll bed is down in front partially obscuring the view of the first floor. Every once in a while I will surprise her with new furniture from her box of dollhouse things we put away a long time ago. This dollhouse was a gift to her from a friend of mine when she was 2. We remodeled last winter putting the backing on, adding partitions for rooms, and repainting it. The most common doll residents are the Polly Pockets. They really like the Sculpey furniture R8 has made. Looking at this photo I think we'll add some things to the walls. The back board is a dry erase surface. That has the potential for fun!

We moved these photos my mom took to one wall in R8 and J3's room. We have a new addition- a lovely photograph of a trilium flower. I haven't decided where to put that one yet. My mom is quite the nature photographer. Thanks mom. Of course, my favorite are the black-eyed susans. Maryland State Flower anyone?

Remember R8's Kandinsky painting from earlier this summer? It looks awesome at the head of her bed.

We did a little make-over in the boys' room. Underneath the yellow stripe is a sponged edge with alphabet stamps and hand stamps. Perfect for toddler and preschooler boys- not so perfect for a tween and his 6yo brother. So, at AC Moore I found sticker borders and check it out. I bought the sports stickers for the border and up near E10's top bunk. I-6 has Batman stickers. Of course. The rest of the room shows off Brian Jacques posters (author of Redwall) and more of my mom's photography. Although we are still waiting on that bird of prey Dad. I'm just sayin'.

At some point I'd love to repaint the room a more neutral color, but we have some other rooms on the docket first. The one that comes to mind is my kitchen and dining room. Since we aren't traveling at Thanksgiving now, Dan has agreed to work on this. Wish me luck!! A trim wall will look super with my new 6.5 ft pencil tree. More on this later if my dream comes true...

Happy Birthday R8!!

Can it be? I remember the day she was born so clearly! June 1, 2000- my parents were here waiting for her arrival and after they'd been here several days, I went into labor. They were staying in their RV -which was in the street in front of our house because they couldn't get it under a tree at the end of our driveway...did I mention we'd only lived here about 3 or so months and the trailer was here for two weeks? My dad had to go back to work and unhitched his truck and drove to DC- leaving the trailer out front. I'm sure the neighbors were nervous...the license plates said West Virginia! Plus my mom brought her three dogs with her. Makes me laugh just thinking about it! She also proceeded to meet all of our neighbors- even the ones we hadn't met! ANYWAY, Dan knocked on their door not long after midnight to let them know we needed to leave for the hospital. We both took one last look at E9 as an only child and took off. By the time I arrived at the hospital, my contractions were about 2 minutes apart...I'll spare you all the details, but in the end she was born via c-section.

A baby girl! I could hardly believe it when the doctor announced it. Her baby-hood seems like a blur, but one thing I remember so well is that she and E9 were fast friends from the start. I think it's all a blur partially because she wanted to be a big girl from the start. As a mom of three boys and one girl I can tell you that baby girls are not quite as cuddly as baby boys- at least with mommy! She has been on the go right from the start and never slept as well as my sleepy boys either!

Today R8 is a kind-hearted little girl who always has an encouraging word. She likes to include others in her activities and is not afraid to just step right up and dig in- no matter what it is. She is such a second born! Never cautious- always ready to give something a try on a moment's notice. We've been going to a new church now for about 6 weeks or so and from the very first day there, she's been front and center at the children's sermon just talking away! I think every week I get a compliment on how much they love her. So cute!

Despite the fact that she is surrounded by three brothers, she is all girl but she can take care of herself! She loves to play her brothers' lego games, spy games, superhero stunts, but you can be sure she'll steal away to play with her Polly Pockets and American Girl dolls or take out her art box and create away. She probably has the best demeanor with J2. She is so good at leading him along and encouraging him to do the right thing- they play so well together and they are the best roommates. J2 loves to ask for R8 and play nicely with her whatever pretend game it is while he rolls around on the floor with his brothers...boys!

So, happy birthday R8! Our beautiful, bright,and amazingly intuitive precious little girl. I can hardly wait to see what God has in mind for you! We love you!

Last week was her party so today we celebrated as a family with her. After church she got to open up her presents and play. She also had a special dinner of her choice (pasta of course...she is the ultimate pasta hog and broccoli- her favorite veggie only I didn't have any so she picked carrots.) and some strawberry shortcake. She ended the day with some painting time- on that new canvas of course!

R8 hides behind her stash: art canvases, Samantha and her accessories, a prairie dress along with one for Kirsten, and three American Girl activity kits

I coaxed Grandma out of sewing retirement for these. Aren't they beautiful? Just perfect! R8 will be so excited to wear these to her one room school house field trip next week.

Kirsten models her new dress

Back view...Grandma you outdid yourself! I can't wait to see what arrives for the boys this week. I know...I know...the machine is going away for a while. I so appreciate your hard work. Now is probably not the time to mention that Nani (my mom) is a pretty good seamstress herself having made many beautiful things for me and for my nieces...somehow though she is just not as easy to coax into grandmotherly behavior (love you mom!) ; )

Before the day was out, I knew I had to let R8 try out painting on her canvas.

She had a grand time! More on this assignment and our artist study soon, but we'll be working on this in the evenings until it is finished.

All in all she had a super day!

Dollhouse Renovations are COMPLETE!

What do you think? It used to be white with lavender trim on the roof and front side trim only. We updated it with a fun dark pink and lime green trim. The first time I painted it she was 2yo so I'm excited for the make over and it'll be fun to get down to house keeping!

Dan puts the finishing touches on by hammering the backing onto the house.

The finished product- after the additions of walls and repainting and a backing added.

Back up in R7's room- at last! The sculpey kitchen appliances have been added.

Uh-oh! These are defenders of the fortress or evil schemers who plan to take over. Either way it is clear that R7 and I will have stiff competition to keep her brothers OUT of the way. Why do I have the distinct feeling I'll be competing with her as well!?

Painting the Dollhouse

Now that the new walls are in and the holes filled in and sanded, it is time to paint! I started repainting the house a few days ago and tonight R7 helped me out with some first coatings. She was delighted to try and make nice even strokes. I know she is having a grand time working on this with me- and that's what it's all about!

We decided together on a color change for the homestead. It used to be white and lavender (the purple was on the roof and the outline on the front). Now the roof is fuschia (not too unlike R7's pants up there) and the trim is lime green. She decided she wants the horizontal pieces going across lime green as well. Plus, I will do the side panels in fuschia. I kept painting this evening so we're nearly done. Over the next couple of nights I will be finished the final coats. I used acrylic paints so I'm toying with the idea of coating the whole house in modpodge. If any dollhousers out there have an opinion on this, please let me know. I'm going for less furniture marking which happened easily last time we painted.

We have the backing to the house, so hopefully this weekend we can convince Dan to get to it! This has been a fun project to work on together and it's just cool to see this house, which R7 has had since she was 2, come to life in a new and meaningful way.

Dollhouse Renovation

R7 helps to mark the wood.

R7 learns how to use a speed square.

Measuring the height between the floors

The new walls are in!

Dan in his "workshop".

New kitchen appliances anyone?

For the dollhouse that is. We worked on making some kitchen items for the dollhouse the other day. Sculpey is very handy for that sort of thing.

As I type, Dan is picking up some wood to make the partitions for the dollhouse so we can have some rooms. He also has a backing cut for it. R7 and I will be some wall papering. Better her house than mine! I'm still working UNdoing earlier paper jobs in our house...

A Snowman for the Doll House

We've been using a journal type book to write to each other regarding the doll house. Today I left a note for R7 asking her to build a snowman for the yard or to decorate indoors. She jumped at the chance! We've been having a lot of fun with Our Year of the Doll House. On Christmas morning she opened up the journal with my explanation of the invitation to join me and each night I leave a note for her and we work on something together. She writes back to me with her ideas. It's been fun...thanks Lynn and Alana!

Guess what I found in our Klutz clay book?! Others on the doll house journey might be interested in this. I was doubting my desire to make the clay needed to make kitchen cannisters. Now I'm on board. Sculpey to the rescue!!

I just know our house will need a lawnmower and hose. I especially like the stove and fridge up there too. We'll have so much fun!!

We've been consulting with Daddy on doll house renovation, but I'm not sure how that is going. I know it hasn't been done, but hopefully the stomach thing that struck our house today will be extremely limited in its reach and longevity. Then we can get that underway.