Sumos in Motion

I finished my two sumo wrestlers! I have had them in my head for about a month. I am improving on my sumo design from the mobile I made for my friend's niece. I added a gusset to make them more roly-poly, which makes me sound like such a sophisticated sewer (until you get to the roly-poly part). I am going to hang them from a striped dowel rod so that they can duel eternally in the air, but I couldn't resist doing a little wrestling photo shoot with them. I love the art of sumo. How did it begin? I am not going to Wikipedia that, I would rather just wonder. How do they prepare? Do they strategically eat fattening foods? Do you study the art when you are a child and then fall in love with it and then gain a lot of weight when you want to go pro? I probably should just Wikipedia it with all my questions, but sometimes I get annoyed at having the answers so close, so I guess I'll let them simmer for awhile.

Ellery and a Special Request Vacation

When Ellery was born, her home town felt a shake. The local officials thought maybe there was a slight quake of the Earth, but the truth is that the hearts of all of Ellery's admirers beat so fast upon her arrival that it sent out vibrations for miles. Ellery is so well-loved that she almost glows. Birds sing special songs and butterflies flutter with extra vigor when she is nearby because they know they are in the presence of something beautiful and lovely. There is a special pack of women in her life that guard her, protect her, snuggle with her and fawn over her porcelain cheeks. She feels the comfort of their love which makes her almost as warm and cozy as her fuzzy, bunny suit.

Ellery is for a sweet, sweet, sweetums friend's, friend's daughter. Thank you Ean!

Ellery represents my final special request. I take requests from my ever supportive friends and family, but I am taking a break to pursue some new ideas, explore gussets and learn some still life photography skills.

Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a beautiful Mother's Day full of hugs and snugs. Mine was nice, though I have been knee-deep in soggy tissues, and breathing isn't as easy as it used to be. I have bronchitis, and it seems to have unpacked its bags and made itself comfortable. Bronchitis didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of homemade blueberry crepes courtesy of my beau. And, my bright yellow roses from Walter make my heart go aflutter. Although, this past week Walter could have easily given the flowers to Cookie Monster since Sesame Street is doing the majority of my mothering while I am under the weather.

Clarence

Clarence has a loud voice. His mother says they can hear him all the way in China when he speaks in his excited voice, which is most of the time. Clarence is excited about most everything, but he is especially excited about cereal with marshmallows in it, super hero comic books, carnivorous flowers, dinosaurs and his number one super best friend, Ti. Together, Clarence and Ti roar at things together and scare away mischievous rodents that try to eat the vegetables growing in their backyard gardens.

Clarence was a special request for Stacie who, if I had a fan club, would be the president. But, I think she would be the president of lots of people's fan clubs. That is just the kind of girl she is.

Three's a Crowd

Since I mentioned my dog, Albert, yesterday, I thought I should report on the status of his and Walter's relationship after the introduction of the stuffed bunny I brought into our lives.

Relationship Status = Rapidly Deteriorating

The bunny was for Walter, of course, but Albert has been eying it enviously since Sunday. Catching a bunny is Albert's Everest. And here I am, stuffing one and handing it over to my dear son, who torments Albert with his "petting" (hitting). Yesterday, Albert, who hasn't touched one of Walter's toys ever, claimed the bunny as his own. Here is a documentation of yesterday's events:

Midge and Molly

Midge and Molly are twins. Mostly, they have similar interests. They differ in opinion when it comes to milk (Midge is a fan of chocolate, whereas chocolate milk makes Molly's stomach go wobbly), flowers (Molly thinks dandelions are no-good weeds while Midge puts them in elegant vases on her nightstand) and bugs (Midge likes lightning bugs and Molly prefers the comical antics of the stick bug). They are the kind of girls that are very good at many things, but for some things, when they do them together---they are exceptional. Apart, they can carry a tune just fine, but together they can magically harmonize so well that birds stop singing just to listen. They also are extraordinary at throwing and catching cheese balls in their mouths. They are pretty sure they have some sort of magic twin gene that gives them an advantage in the sport of cheese ball catching. They are currently in the process of petitioning Guiness to be included in the book of records for most cheese balls caught in a row. This is all much to their pet dog, Shmoopie's, dismay as he wishes some of those cheese balls would land in his mouth.

Midge and Molly are a special request from my good friend Downtown Kelly Brown (Schmidtke) who I worked with in a cafe long, long ago. I have many memories of working with her and doing a lot of giggling. She is now Aunt Downtown Kelly Brown to two twin girls. When I was pregnant I desperately wanted twins, or triplets. I want a big family, so that seemed like a pretty economical (time-wise) way of getting to that goal. Now I am grateful to just have Walter because he is so rowdy I can't imagine having another just like him. Also, if I had twins, my poor miniature pinscher, Albert's, hair would most certainly all fall out due to anxiety. It breaks my heart that he (I know it's a strong word, but fitting) hates Walter so much. He's a good boy, so he would never bite, and sometimes if Walter has graham crumbs on his hands, Albert will even give him a lick, but he definitely despises his existence. I cross my fingers that when Walter is older they can be good pals.

Bunny and Bird

I made Walter a bunny for Easter and his little pal at church a bird. In addition to getting a bunny, Walter participated in his very first Easter egg hunt on Sunday! He was very selective in that he passed on all the eggs and instead, chose a rock.