Iveyrock

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I finally finished my first wool cover. I have wanted to try wool for awhile, but I’ve been intimidated by the process of washing and drying it. You have to keep it lanolized, and you have to make sure it doesn’t shrink or stretch.

However, it is also supposed to make great covers. It both absorbs and repels liquid; which is no small thing. It is antimicrobial, so you don’t have to wash it nearly as often. It is good for moderating temperature, and is an all natural fiber, unlike the diaper covers I’m using now.

So, a bit hesitantly, I started my first cover. I finished it, and then decided to add the drawstring, so it actually took a little longer. (I used this pattern, from With A Tangled Skein)

We washed it outside, mostly because the kids were out playing, and I was impatient. I realized afterwards that I was supposed to let it soak a bit.

We rolled it in a towel (carefully, so it didn’t stretch) and laid it inside to dry.

The kids decided they needed to wash every toy in the yard. In shocking news, it turns out that when you get wool wet, it smells like sheep. Now our toys smell faintly of sheep, as well.

It’s currently sitting on my pass-through, almost dry. The next step is to try it on the baby…

Now. Today.

Life is not when the baby sleeps through the night, when the job changes, when the kids are out of diapers. Not when the weather is cooler, or warmer, or it didn’t rain this morning.

Life doesn’t start when I get more sleep, when I have a bigger yard, better house, older kids. Not when I am wiser, not when I am ready, not when I retire.

 Life doesn’t start when I have everything planned, everything learned, everything perfected.

Life is typing one handed. Taking down-time in a chair, instead of napping on the couch. This amount of tired, this amount of content. Taking this moment, instead of the perfect moment.

Listening to my daughter talk to her dolls, and my son pretending to fish. Watching my daughter wander out, because she ‘needs’ these shoes, and that toy. Helping my son untangle his fishing string, ‘just this once’. Smiling back at my baby, who still isn’t sleeping.

Life is this moment. And the next. This day. And every day.

For the last couple of months, we have been planning to get the kids a swing-set. For some reason, I was thinking this process would be simple, possibly even fun. Awhile ago, we took the kids to try out some models. They had a good time, but I left completely overwhelmed.
There is far more to think about than I had originally realized. Through this process I have researched companies, features, and models of swing-sets. I have scoured Craigslist. I have asked friends and family for their recommendations. I have taken special note of swing-sets in strangers’ backyards. I have seriously considered looking at a house for sale, because of the swing-set in the backyard…
Eventually, we came to the decision to buy a small boxed swing-set, from a well known company. It had all of our ‘must-haves’, it met Ray’s safety standards, and we liked the company. Not to mention, it is a particularly cute little swing-set, and I could just imagine it in the backyard. I put off ordering it for awhile, because – well, what if it wasn’t perfect? What if we found something better? What if we hadn’t thought it through enough? But after pulling my daughter off of the pass-through into the kitchen, I told Ray that it was time to finally place the order.

We took the night to measure out the placement of the swing-set in the backyard, to make sure it was exactly what we wanted. Somewhere in the process of doing this, I brought up the option of buying the next-biggest model. (Because again, what if we hadn’t agonized over this enough? I also made Ray explain to me why we wanted a swing-set, why we were sure about this brand, and why we didn’t want to go with a design-it-yourself option).

So, in the end, we decided to go with the bigger option. I am excited about it, because it will offer lots more opportunities for the kids to climb; which was after all, the original goal of the swingset. We can make the bottom into a sandbox that is bigger than the one we have now, rather than keeping a feature that we don’t need. It has two towers, which will offer shade on the top and the bottom. This is important, since we have absolutely no shade in the backyard, and it’s already in the 90’s most days. I know that the kids would have enjoyed a littler one, but I think they will use this one longer, and find a use for every feature it has.

But if I am being honest, I am still mourning the loss of my cute little swing-set. I could just imagine it in the backyard, with the kids swinging on it… Ray tells me that ‘cute’ isn’t the point of a swing-set. We’ll see what he says when he spends a weekend putting the bigger version up…

Today I decided to work on my issues with the kids using the art supplies on themselves. It was a big no-no growing up, and so far I haven’t allowed it at our house. But in thinking through why I don’t allow it, I realized that my objections are;
1 – that is ingrained in me that it is not OK. While I have no problem with my mom not allowing it, I don’t think that in itself is a good reason to forbid it at my house.
2 – I get frustrated that they aren’t using the art supplies on the paper, or whatever it is they are supposed to be decorating. I think this is because there isn’t an end ‘product’. That, of course, doesn’t matter to the kids at all. Or rather, they are very happy to BE the end product. In my mind, that’s not how this creative process works. How are they going to learn to be creative if I don’t force them to do it the right way? How are they going to appreciate the process if they don’t have something to show for it? How will they ever learn about different mediums, if I allow them to experience them using the biggest sensory organ they have???? Ahem.

So, this afternoon the kids got to decorate themselves with markers. I let them do it outside, because I can always handle more myself outside, and because it’s an easy line to draw, if I need parameters around this. They had a great time, and I had fun watching them. They got to decorate my feet, which was an even bigger hit than drawing on themselves. 

After a bit, Chava dropped some markers through a hole in the slide. After looking it over, I knew there was no way to get them back. Ian, however, said that he was going to “be creative” and decided that putting lots of mud down the hole was a good way to get them back. They spent a good half an hour working on that.

Which gave me time to finish my own project – my first crocheted soaker. I’ve been wanting to try wool covers for awhile, but I’ve been too intimidated.