Breeze

It's a weird feeling...I went for something that I never would have gone for, because people told me I'd be great at it...and then I failed.  

Like...why tell me that?  I dunno.  Maybe people are happier with me in their heads than in reality?  Maybe I'm better on paper?  

On a happier note, I got to sing and dance a little bit on Monday after having some bad news, and I was able to stuff it down and do a good job. 

List of projects that need to be done

 Current project list:

boy baby romper for a friend
finish Charlotte's smocked dress
backyard crop cages (to save my garden from evil squirrels)
clean up/repair garden boxes
purge/organize garage
Replace swing pad
Chartlotte's bow and headband holder
Massive clothes purge

Not as overwhelming when all written down.

LENT!

Long time no post! 
I'm not sure why it's so hard for me mentally to write in this blog, but I am here again with a renewed effort to do so.  I thought maybe I would make it part of my Lenten discipline, but just to warn you: I'm not super good at that, either.  

I did used to do these lists on my Xanga blog and they would help me, sometimes.  

I am giving up: Kate Quinn.
Y'all...I know that sounds kinda dumb.  But I am a complete Kate Quinn addict (they make and sell amazing baby and mama clothes).  Their business model is one that keeps you checking the site constantly for price drops...like for example, a $49 quilt will go on sale for $6 and if you happen to get their first, you score the quilt.  It is very successful for them, but bad for me.  I love their clothes...they are amazing quality and made out of bamboo or organic cotton type materials.  But I spend wayyyyy too much of my time on that (not to mention money).  So I'm not going to be doing any KQ stuff till after Easter.  Hopefully I can curb my habit. 

I am taking on: cleaning my house.
This is my biggest sense of shame that I have.  I. am. so. messy.
I'm not talking about those people who say "Oh my house is so messy!" and all they have is like, some groceries on the counter.  I mean it is full on, every surface cluttered, things in the way...MESSY.  I could blame having a baby for this, and I will.  I am not trying to put myself on blast, here.  I live in mental SHAME over this and it affects how I think about my whole life.  I know it affects my husband too, and I owe it to him to get this stuff cleaned up.

But when I say that having a baby is to blame, that is on top of me already being a messy person.  I am super creative: I always have 5 or 6 projects underway or in the works, so I can't just put everything away and be done with it.  I don't have a sewing room, or a project room since we made our nursery, so it's not like I can put all my stuff in one area.  I am writing this from my dining table...my laptop is in the middle of a sewing machine, pattern peices, smocking, embroidery floss, half cut out patterns, elastic, a breast pump, the baby monitor, bubble juice, headphones, baby toys...you get the picture. It's overwhelming me, and it's hard to see progress.  So I am going to force myself to blog what I tackle everyday so it doesn't get lost.  

I also want to stay humble and not just present the fake/best/beautiful side of my life, so bear with me.  I might post pictures...MAYBE.  But again, I am not going to put myself on blast, because I am already deeply ashamed of my housekeeping skills.  Just ask my mother-in-law about them ;)

So while the baby is taking a nap and my coffee energy hasn't yet worn off, I am doing laundry.  That's a start.  

Blessed Karl's Relic

 Today we visited Mater Dei Latin Mass Parish, and we saw the relics of Blessed Karl of Austria.  Our baby Charlotte is named after him. 

Charlotte wore a watermelon dress that I made her before she was born. 

On the way home there was a massive storm with really heavy rain...flash flooding, and all that rot.  
I had the BEST nap I have had in ages, and it pushed my sleep on my Fitbit to "GOOD"...y'all, my sleep has not been "GOOD" since April 9th, 2022.  I went back and looked.  I feel like I won an Olympic sleep event.  

Thinking about Christening dresses

 Just what is a "Christening" dress...vs. baptism dress...and why do we use two different terms? 
I learned something about that recently because I've been low-key obsessed with Charlotte's baptism coming up on October 1st.  We've had to move the date several times to accommodate family, which is understandable. I had a moment of desperation back soon after she was born, thinking I wasn't going to have a dress to baptize her in.  I'd been told there was a family one that Hunter wore at his baptism, but all the sudden no one knew who had it, and I panicked.  I bought a really beautiful Victorian gown on Etsy for about $30.  It is unique but not quite what I had in mind, plus I'm not sure if it will fit her anymore. 

 

So that's an option, but the problem there is that with the age/style of the lace, I don't have 1. a slip and 2. a bonnet to match it, which might be difficult to do. Either way, I'm going to have to make something.

Which started me thinking that if I'm going to have to make someone, I might as well make her dress and ensemble.  It would at least be handmade and special in that regard, even if not a family heirloom (yet?).  I don't want to have to share her dress with distant cousins and maybe never see it again.  I thought about cutting up my wedding veil for part of the lace, but now I'm not sure.  

I was going to go to our garment district here in Dallas to see what kind of satin/silk they have, in view of making a dress.  I discovered the biggest and most famous fabric store is closed!!  I am so shocked.  The place got hit by a tornado back before Covid, and I am sure all these little warehouse stores struggled to survive.  I'm scared to go there with a baby because it's kind of a sketchy part of town.  I had my mom here yesterday to watch her, but I got sick and crashed hard and slept most of the afternoon.  I'm feeling slightly better today, but I'm staying home anyway.  

Sometimes I feel trapped by my own willpower and having a baby to take with me...it's hard to leave the house because of the massive effort it takes to go places.  I guess that's okay, but there are things I want to do.  I'm so glad that I have help! 

Back to the original question and title of the post: 

Baptism is the sacrament that takes place in the dress...the main point of the ceremony.  As Catholics, we believe that it resolves and wipes away Original Sin.

Christening is an Anglican-ish thing...which is the actual naming of the child.  The priest ask the father to "Name this child", and the child is officially named.  That is why you might hear someone refer to their "Christian name" which is their first name, as opposed to their surname.  Pretty cool and very English. 

Feelin' good on a Sunday Morning

 There is a magical window of time when the coffee kicks in...if the baby is sleeping at just the right window, and I get a little bit of time to just sit and vibe out with the caffeine high.  It is amazing.

Hunter is back to work now, after having had all summer with him to just play and enjoy the baby.  She is 12 weeks old now, and just perfect.  Seriously...she is a perfect baby.  I know most people think that, but my girl really is.  She slept for 6 hours in a row last night and I only woke her up because I heard evidence that she needed a diaper change and didn't want her to sit in poop all night.  She eats and goes right back to sleep in her bassinet.  Perfection.  

I have her birth story halfway typed up but I haven't posted it yet.  I still have this weird thing with posting pregnancy stuff...I'm sure it's from so many losses.  I hesitate to write it down.  But this is a GOOD birth story and needs to be heard!  I will finish it soon, I hope.  Now that I'm going to be a stay at home Mom, I will have more free time (in theory!).  I just need to use my time wisely.  There is a lot of clutter in my house that needs to go away, but I'd rather relax and just stare at the baby.  She's currently asleep next to me on a pillow.  

Here are some current pics of my marshmallow baby:

The Texas Church performs Hamilton saga

I posted this to my Facebook account with fear and trepidation for negative feedback I might receive.  I tried to be as non-controversial as possible:

I've been watching the "Texas church illegally performs Hamilton with an anti-LGBTQ message" thing unfold over the last few days, biting my nails the whole time. I have a few things to say and I'll probably wish I hadn't.

 
1. If your church is going to perform a musical, make it The Music Man, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady...or some other vanilla, non-confrontational thing that everyone loves and all the little old ladies would love to come to. This is actually a cool thing for churches to do.

2. If your church is going to branch out and try to get attention with a piece of hot theatre, take the time to use Google and see if it is available from any of the publishing houses that own the rights.

3. If said piece is not available, maybe stick with one that is. It will save you tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in the long run.

4. If you still want to do the show illegally, do NOT livestream it to Youtube.

5. Remember why you chose the show. If you need to change dialog to make it fit the message you want to send, then it isn't the right show. Maybe you could write your own show or parody, which is totally legal. Having a character "get saved" as part of the show is really cringey, in my opinion.

 
6. If you are going to touch on hot button topics...don't do a show illegally and stream it to Youtube to do so.

 
And if you STILL insist on doing all this illegal stuff but don't want court and legal fees, and a fine, and the wrath of the ENTIRE theatre community on you:

 
7. Don't pick Hamilton.