planetpayne

We’ve been searching for a new purse for Ingrid. The ones she has are getting ratty and she wanted one more like mommy’s. Most kid purses we saw were too small to be useful, and too pink or frilly. She liked several of the adult styles but of course they were too big and not really little girlish in my opinion, not to mention expensive. So we decided to make our own. We spent about $7 and have lots of extra material; this amount seems fair to me. No pattern necessary, we just sketched some shapes until it looked right. It wasn’t hard at all, just basically involved making two bags in different materials, then putting one inside the other and adding some handles.

Andrew was working on the car yesterday so we took a very long and hot bike ride to Joann Fabrics, about 2.2 miles one way! Ingrid rode her new little Barbie bike with training wheels and I jogged alongside. It was a risky venture but we made it there and back in one piece. I made the purse and Ingrid was inspired to make a matching wallet. The inside of the purse is cute too, it’s got the same pink skull/butterfly motif as the bow. I’m really proud of the way Ingrid was able to follow instructions, and she pretty much sewed the wallet with the sewing machine all by herself!

Starting yesterday, Ingrid is officially into Barbies. She decided Barbie would get married today but she didn’t have a groom. Here’s what she came up with in a pinch.

When my dad told me he wanted to make a painting with Ingrid, I jumped at the chance. Not only would she get to know another side of Grandpa, she would also learn in detail about something she already loves. Since painting with him, she has learned to hold the paintbrush in different ways to achieve different looks. She has learned what different looking brushes are used for. She has learned how to mix colors. And techniques for making sky, mountains, fur, etc. She and Grandpa typically paint for 4-5 hours at a time. My dad was pretty impressed with how long Ingrid could focus on her project. I’m not surprised because her preschool teacher said the same thing.

Today they will finish Ingrid’s jaguar. Grandpa had asked her what she wanted to paint and she said maybe a lion. After looking through some of his books, she picked out two animals. He asked her:  Which one do you want to paint Ingrid? And she answered: We’re going to paint them both. My dad thought that was funny. So it looks like there will be another painting coming soon.

This was Ingrid’s morning project today- to sew a mouse for Pluto. That’s what Kindergarten homeschool looks like for us most days. Ingrid wakes up with an idea and I see what I can do to make it happen. In the beginning, I would plan the project with her and then make it alongside her. Now after several months, she knows what can be achieved with different materials and tools, and she has the confidence to try it on her own.

What she did is draw some shapes and cut them out of felt, and then glue on a yarn tail. Next she sewed the edges, leaving an opening for stuffing. Lastly she stuffed it and glued on eyes. She decided to skip the ears since they would only fall off. She and Pluto played with it for about half an hour, then she shoved some pieces of dry cat food into it to make it more appealing. She did this on her own without telling me : )  Now Pluto is going crazy trying to figure out where that smell is coming from. He’s already looked under it and all around. He’s seriously confused. And who knows what will happen to Mousie when we’re not around and the dogs get to it!

We’ve been walking the pets in the neighborhood surrounding this RV park in Redwood City. The park is a total dump but the little houses around are small and mostly well cared for. Lots of pretty gardens, mostly with rose bushes but a few really amazing ones too.

Ingrid has begun holding Ginger and it’s going surprisingly well. Ginger seems to understand that she can’t pull and she stays right next to Ingrid’s side, walking slowly. I take Otto who has to be corrected 100 times in ten minutes, and Pluto follows several paces behind. We have to walk slower and stop and wait for him, as he gets distracted sometimes. But the dogs enjoy it more because because that means more outside time.

People often shout to us out of their car window. Today an old man said, good looking dogs! Another wanted to know if they were pointers. A kid said, hey there’s a cat following you! (That’s the most common one.) A woman asked, are you walking your cat? Does he just follow you?! It’s kind of fun sometimes, having an excuse to talk to some locals. Other times it’s just annoying : )