So we have gotten moved. THANK GOD.

This move wasn't as bad at the last. I didn't get hurt until the last day and that was minor and over after a day of staying off my feet. We also didn't really expect help and are EXTREMELY grateful for the help we got! My mom bought moving help for us (load and unload in 3 hours? YES PLEASE!) and my friend Rachel helped out by giving opinions and cleaning the kitchen at the old place.

Elizabeth came home and we all managed to settle in fairly well. The dust has settled and the curtains are almost all up!

Sadly, our male cat Oliver isn't adjusting so well. He is a shy, skittish sort and spent the first 24 hours hiding in the litterbox. Now, he's licked himself bald and raw down his back and on his missing boy-parts. I'm going to get some of what we call relax-a-cat for him. We had some from the last move, but he didn't need it. I have no idea where it is now. I'm sure that he will be fine once he has had a few relaxed days here. He just doesn't have his Spots picked out yet and can't find a place where we are not moving around all the time. It will work out just fine once everything is in its final home.

And speaking of home, my sewing machine came home on Monday! The serger is still at the shop, but I'm sure it will be done soon. The daughter of the shop's owner runs the *business* while the owner does all the repairs and tune-ups. The daughter is also the one who does sergers. I'm next on the list, but she's got business things to do, too. I can be patient. I have the sewing machine and it sounds AMAZING. Humming silently and better than brand new! I can't wait to have them both back, but I'm patient for now.

And what's the first thing that I sew when it got home? Blackout lining for the windows in Elizabeth's room. I hope that I NEVER have to mess with anything like that again! I don't think I've used such foul language at fabric before. But the blackouts work great - her room seems to be south-facing and is blistering hot during the day as well as nicely lit by the neighbors at night. All of those problems have been solved now.

I'm off just now to lint-roller the couch again and remove a little more of Oliver from it.

Elizabeth has had a hard week. I'm sure it is mostly my fault as my patience level has been about as high as freshly mowed courthouse grass, but I've managed to get myself back on track I think. I can just only stand so much of her whining and screaming at being told no before I want to get the Gypsies on speed dial. Instead, I break out the Peanut Butter Cheerios. They are magical things that buy silence for a few minutes. Here's the recipe:

1/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter or margarine
6 cups Cheerios

Melt the butter and peanut butter. Pour over Cheerios. Mix well. Spread them on a flat surface to cool. Store in an airtight container.

They are excellent tea party food, too.

We use butter in ours because Elizabeth is on limited amounts of milk and needs a little extra milk-fat. And yeah, I've heard there are PB Cheerios in the stores now. I think these are better, though. And a lot more controllable - you pick what goes in! I've need wanting to try it with a brand of organic, gluten free o cereal that I've had before. The o's are a little sweet because they have pomegranate juice in the mix. I think they would be really great!

ANYWAY!

Busy week around here. Elizabeth turned two (TWO! GAK!) and is really enjoying her new toys. She got new play dishes (inculding a tea set), a dolly stroller, two new dolls and dolly care set, and more books than you can shake a stick at. She loves every bit of it! Annie isn't very popular, but I can't say I'm surprised. Blue Bear is her Best Friend and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

Mommy forgets party dress? Wear one of great-granna's!

Speaking of Blue Bear, he may end up being my next sewing project. I think I may have to frankenbear the Not Blue Bear to patch up Blue Bear. She will not accept any substitutions and she is terrified of bandaids. As in kicking, wailing, screaming, freaking-out-about-seeing-the-box scared of bandaids.

But I have managed to get some sewing in. I've remade a couple of her diapers into something i like a lot better. I've also gotten some of Elizabeth's fall things cut out. I've also unpacked a couple of the pairs of B3Ps that I made last winter and let the hems down on them. They should still fit this fall. She's gotten taller, not broader! And I did this:

Well, I've learned several things this week. About myself, about my kid, and about sewing.

About myself I have learned (relearned) that I need lots of help in the patience department. These long weeks of summer with no playschool and the Boy Scout's mid-shift schedule have worn on me to the point that I struggle to not say No to everything, be moderately nice to my family, and not go absolutely crazy from the constant noise.

I have a real THING about noise. If there is constant noise (people talking, fans blowing, radio going, traffic, anything that makes noise) I can't hear anything. I can't hear people talking to *me*, I can't hear my own thoughts. I just can't hear over all that racket! I will NOT talk over machines, either. And when I can't hear, I get frustrated and angry really easily. This is not helped by the fact that the Boy Scout seems to think that the only acceptable tv volume is 'So-loud-we-have-to-shout.' That volume isn't good for him or for Elizabeth - he hears NOTHING else and she just zones out on whatever is up there because it is overwhelming her senses. And me, I just need and crave silence. The only time I really get it these days is when Elizabeth is sleeping in the afternoons.

I have learned this week that Elizabeth (at not-yet-2) can say and understand the word 'decorated.' From her mouth is comes out as 'dek-aw-ay-ted' but that still isn't bad! This is my fault. We played shaving cream in the bath one night and i decorated all her tub toys with it. Now, she uses her bubbles, glow-sticks, and anything else that comes to hand to decorate her toys. All the while talking about how ducky, seal, bear, and happy-face are decorated.

She's also been taking on longer and longer sentances. I'm inclined to believe that the people who set up the benchmarks of development are grossly underestimating what a small child can do. I mean, we have talked to Elizabeth from moment one and I have read to her since she could sit up on her own. But she didn't say anything past 'dada' and 'mama' until she was maybe 14 months? And then her vocabulary was limited to mama, dada, bubble, sticker, and cracker for a long time. It has only been in the past 8 or 9 weeks that she's really gotten to talking.

She can also say 'crap.' That is also my fault. When I have an accident or really mess up driving, I say crap! Well, now when I drop something that is loud or accelerate too hard in the car, she says crap for me. I ignore it, and she's said it maybe four times. Compared to what she *could* be saying, I'm mortified but not worried.

Sewing wise, I've learned what all those feet were, save one! Thanks to my friends N. and naiadkitty, I'm a lot more in the know than I was. That clasp thing is still elusive, but I suppose I'll just make something up for it. I've also learned that drafting a sleeve for a sleeveless dress is less hard than I thought. And that Oliver + S patterns are both cute and run big!

We can save this for fall.

I also have learned why everything I make comes out bigger than expected. I've been using 1/4 inch seams. Most patterns call for 1/2 inch. The half-inch seams on the Oliver + S Puppet Show Dress that I made this week seem HUUUUGE.

And I totally still stink at pressing and hemming on a curve. How on earth do you all do that without having wrinkles and folds?! UGH!