Chairs from the side of the road AFTER

Sanded, Painted and tightened up, the chairs are good as new. I found two tri fold futon mattresses with good quality foam at the local Salvation Army and cut them up into the three seat cushions and three back cushions and then covered them with vintage ticking stripe fabric. Considering I got the chairs for free, this project cost me a little more than I meant it to because the foam cost 20$ and the paint and fabric supplies cost another 20$. For two chairs and a chaise all made of wood, I know it's still a good price but I get a little stingy when it comes to free furniture.

Chairs from the side of the road BEFORE

Slightly blurry picture of the next pair of remade jeans for the oldest. I cut down the length of a pair of juniors jeans that, let's be honest, never really fit me anyway to the length of another pair that fit him well. Then I tucked the back waist line over and put elastic in it and took in the side seams , the crotch seams and a little bit between the two back pockets. The design of the jean lends itself well to smaller portions because the pockets on both the front and back were pretty small to begin with (the way juniors clothes are) and they had a low rise that fit perfectly on a three year old. Any lessons here about buying juniors clothing? Probably anything that can be made to fit a small child with relative ease, should not be worn by a mother of two.

This process did make me realize how much better the washes are for adult, especially women's jeans and how easy it is to make cute clothing for the boys from cheap thrift store buys. And when you aren't looking for jeans with the right fit, the thrift store world opens up exponentially. I made a pair of jeans from the remainder of the legs for the youngest but without the pockets and zipper, they seem a little more generic. I might try sewing on some details or making him a pair from the top of another pair of jeans.

And I will paint my chairs pink

I know pink is not everyone's favorite color. In fact, I know that the other three adults that live in my house would probably never buy a piece of pink furniture. But every once in a while, I just don't care.

My aunt gave me two bright yellow chairs with unfortunate plaid cushion covers when we first moved out to Oregon. I've kept them on hand as sturdy supplements to our benches and as the one adult chair in the kitchen full of high chairs. The color and pattern always sort of made me cringe though. So a couple weeks ago I found a hodge podge of paints left by the owners of our house and picked out a bright fuchsia and a brick red color and with a big can of white house paint mixed a lovely soft pink for the yellow chairs. I unscrewed the cushions and used an electric knife to cut the foam half way through the width making four total cushions and decreasing the height of each seat. After the paint dried I wove strips of burlap that I had serged around all the edges from front to back and then side to side. I stapled the strips in place and then removed the staples as I replaced them with upholstery tacks. I spent about 5$ from the cost of upholstery tacks, which only come in little plastic cases of 20 tacks each. What project would only require 20 tacks? None I know of.

After I finished the two yellow chairs, I repaired the chair I took from a dumpster in Astoria and used one of the extra foam seat covers and some spare lumber to finish the seat to match the other two. They turned out pretty adorably actually. And no one seems to mind that they are pink, or at least they haven't told me so.

lilac love

I just remembered the lilac bush at the top of the yard at the house I grew up in New Jersey. I walked by it every day on my way home from school, our three legged cat tracking me back from the bus stop. Lilacs--the look and smell of them--remind me of spring afternoons and the east coast and my younger self and backpacks and lovely things I can't quite name. So I like them. I like them so much I made a whole group of visiting relatives stop at the Woodland Lilac gardens to walk along paths draped with the heady blossoms of my childhood. And it was perfect. Minus those sunglasses, which looking back I will probably regret having worn in photographs.

Banners Away!

For James' Apple birthday (he got a new mac laptop) I decorated the house a la apple inspiration. This mostly involved about 20 pounds of granny smith apples in stacks and rows around the ground floor of the house. But I also threw this set of banners together at the last minute before guests arrived. And we all who live in the house liked it so much, it's still up. I purchased about 1 1/2 yards of fabric total for about 4$ and a spool of dollar ribbon and had way more fabric than I needed. In fact we could have festooned the whole house if I'd kept going, not just the dining room. The banner itself is far from perfect--I just ran the serger along the top edge of each triangle and along the edge of the ribbon. I had originally planned to surge all three edges of each triangle but time and guests in town kept it simple and the rough edges aren't noticeable. A blanket trim with the two folds might have made it smoother and more finished looking but that would have required my sewing machine work, which it doesn't. I don't think anyone has expectations when it comes to banners anyways.
Now I'm thinking about making a banner for our back deck with oilcloth so that it's weather proof and maybe with varying sizes of rectangles instead of triangles. We'll see.

TIme away

In an effort to bring in a bit more monthly income, while still staying at home full time, I got a part time job. I teach SAT prep classes and occasionally proctor practice tests. It's a great job. I make pretty good money to work about 6 hours a week and refresh my memory on all those annoying grammar rules and math equations that will come in handy when the boys get into junior high. I have four high school juniors in my class and I'm finding that I feel very emotionally connected to them--I would say maternal but that seems not quite it--I want them to do well and find the right school and enjoy their high school experience as much as I did. It's more a commeraderie with a not too distant past self. They are also really great kids who interact with me in class and ask questions when they have no idea what the crap I'm talking about, which I think I never had the self confidence to do, make myself vulnerable in front of a group of peers. So anyway, I like my job for its own value. But I also thrill in the time away from the house, away from the boys and from picking up toys and crumbs. I just stand in front of a class and talk and while I'm doing it, I have makeup on and clothes free of drool and pockets without trucks in them. It is exhilerating.

I know this is not a new feeling to a stay at home mom- enjoying time to herself or separate from the job that primarily defines her. But it inevitably makes me wonder if I should be the one working full time, because I enjoy it so much. It's not that I don't have moments where I thrill in being at home with the boys-I do. I took a nap yesterday afternoon and then walked to the park and painted a picture with the oldest for grammie for mother's day. It's a good life. But James says he can tell when I have a lot of projects on the burners, that I am content and energetic when I am sewing a number of things at once or refinishing big pieces of furniture. Which of course makes me wonder if I am the best one for the stay at home job. I care for my boys well and I think they get stimulation and culture and all the things they should. But I have a tendency to look forward to their naps when I can get something done, or get unnaturally excited to go teach my class. So maybe in terms of contentment, James really is the one for the job--the home job that is. We already know that he functions from home better than I ever have. He plans trips and meets friends and picks up the house in one fluid parental action. He is a multi-tasker. I am not. I either clean the kitchen or I play with the boys or I check e-mail. It does not look seamless. And I feel a sense of failure at the end of the day if I have not accomplished enough. James has no such demons.

So I should work and James should stay home. Settled.

But I don't know what I want to do, or how to make enough money to support us or how the hell I'm supposed to find a job with little occupational skills in a really shitty economy. And James has a great job with a manager who really understands him and with good insurance and a 401K. Not settled.

Any ideas?

And also, because they are so dang cute

Some boys' room pictures

Our camera has been giving us some trouble--sucking up batteries and refusing to flash--so photos have been delayed. But last night the sun was particularly wonderful, all slanty and golden through the etched glass of our windows. So I decided to try some shots around the house-mostly of naked little boys running down the shadowy hallway but also a few of projects. Here is the oldest's new door bed and patch quilt made from James' old pj pants, an aqua sheet and (shocker) a big yardage of polyester from Calvin's.


The traintracks/ladder depending on how you look at them and the simple white curtains over the bamboo shades I took from my room. I would never have bought this type of shade but it is actually perfect for a kids room--blocks the light but still gives you a sense of lightness. I made the train tracks by cutting a couple of pieces of 1x2 into similar lengths and then drilling holes in their sides and running a length of blue dollar store rope through them. I'd hoped the rope would look more like the track but alas--seems to be very tree house ladder in stead. I guess a ladder is equally as little-boyish but not quite as transportation-y, which had been the intention.