twice!

I'm writing twice in one week!  It's another record!

I'm writing to show off what I did today.  Tuesday is a Japanese holiday called Girls Day, which the girls in Rachel's class are celebrating with a tea party with their favorite dolls.  So I took the leftover fabric from the kimono we had made for Rachel earlier this year (she wore it for her Japanese car race a few posts back, in case you want to see it.....), got online to look for doll patterns, couldn't find any, so I made up my own based on a couple of drawings I found, and sewed this for her American Girl doll, Saige.

I had a hard time sewing on this slippery fabric, especially when they were such tiny seams, but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out.  Rachel is thrilled and can't wait to take her to school on Tuesday.

I wish I could take a picture of the two of them together, but Rachel's kimono is at school.  She leaves it there so she'll have it for the various events they use it for at school.  I think I'll make her bring it home on Tuesday just so I can take a picture of them together!

Now Rebecca is asking for a kimono for Bitty Baby.  :(   I told her I would make something else for Bitty Baby sometime, but not a kimono (it was hard!) and not today!  One sewing project is enough for today!!

no news to speak of

I just realized that it has been almost a month since I've written anything.  I think that's probably a record for the eight years I've had this blog.  But I don't feel like you've missed much if this blog is the only way you know what is going on in my life!  There really hasn't been a lot of news, but I'll give you a brief update in case you're really dying to know what's going on in our thrill-a-minute life.

Rachel is working on a project for school about Wind Energy.  As a result, we've borrowed a couple of sets of tinker toys and kind-of-like tinker toys from some friends in order for her to make a wind mill.  But instead the girls have been playing with them like crazy, designing "wind-bots" and playing with them.  These are wind bots, in case you were wondering:  (I know....looks nothing like a windmill or a robot.....But they're enjoying them.)

(Rachel STILL can't look at the camera on command.....ugh!)

Rachel also has gotten really into power point, as a result of making a power point presentation at school.  So just for fun she's been working on a power point presentation here at home about minecraft.  Only my sweet, funny girl would make power point presentations for fun.  

Rebecca is her usual, funny self.  The other day we were grocery shopping at Kroger.  She said something about being at Walmart.  I said, "no, this is Kroger, not Walmart."  She replied, "But Walmart has lower prices across the store!"  Funny girl...She remembers everything she hears (obviously from a commercial.)  and usually uses it in the correct context, which is what makes it so funny.

We had her parent teacher conference last week.  I had no idea what we'd hear about her, but it was mostly all good, so that was a relief!  They said she is ready for kindergarten, which was good to know.  They also said (only because I asked!) that she's bossy, but that didn't really come as any surprise.  She's used to Rachel bossing her around, so I'm sure she revels in trying to boss the kids at school around.  But they said she knows when to back off, and she's not the bossiest in the room, so that's good, I guess!

I've been busy with school, PTA (which keeps sucking me in more and more--everywhere is in such desperate need for volunteers, and I feel like if I don't do it, who will?) Girl Scouts, and just daily life.  I don't know what will happen next year when the girls are at two different schools, so two different PTA groups, Rebecca will be able to be in Girl Scouts, so there will be two different troops to worry about....l don't know how it will all work.  I may have to choose one troop over the other, which I don't want to do, but I don't know how I will do both. 

On Saturday we got lots of snow and we took the girls sledding for the first time in several years.  It was lots of fun and the girls loved it.  It was fun to just go do something fun with all four of us--it feels like that doesn't get to happen very often because we're too busy--and it's harder in the winter, too, I think.  I'm sad, though, that we didn't take any pictures.  :(

And that's a snapshot of our lives right now.  I know....it's thrilling, isn't it??

Grand Prix

Rachel does a program at our church called AWANA.  When you're in third grade and up, you get to participate in the Grand Prix, which is basically a Pinewood Derby race like the Boy Scouts have.  So for the last month, she and her dad have been working on putting her car together.

I don't know if I've mentioned that her new school is a World Cultures school, and the third grade studies Japan.  So all year she has been learning about Japan.  She has her own kimono now to wear to school events, which she is particularly excited about.

So when it came time to design her car for the Grand Prix, she decided she wanted it to look like the Japanese flag.  Very plain and simple.  My husband tried talking her into something a little more exciting, but she was adamant that that's what she wanted.  

So today was the Grand Prix.  Yesterday I jokingly told her she should wear her kimono when she raced her car, to go with her car.  She thought it was a great idea and went with it.  I wasn't sure it would go over very well, but my husband said it was fine (I'm still sick, and it was during nap time, so I wasn't there).

She had fun.  Her car came in second in three heats and third in another heat.  She was happy with how she did, but I'm just happy that she enjoyed it.

So here are some pictures.....hers is the plain one that looks like the Japanese flag!