High Praise Indeed

We had spaghetti for dinner tonight.  Lucas made it following my mother's recipe so it was definitely a family meal.  The kids were excited because they recognized the food.  Sometimes they ask "what's for dinner" and I panic because I honestly don't know what to call the creative mix of ingredients in the pot.  But I try to make up a cool name on the off chance they will actually like it and request a repeat performance.  I've finally figured out, but still have to remind myself often, that my kids are not asking "what's for dinner" in an effort to nag me into the kitchen or comment on my lack of pre-planning.  The fact is, it's five o'clock, their tummies have alerted them of their need for food, and their brains just want to know if the menu will be yummy.  Tonight it was.  We even had parmesan cheese.  I love the way "parmesan" sounds when said in childese.  Gideon delivered the crowning compliment:  "Thanks for the spaghetti.  I'm glad I got to make the choice to come to earth."

All zipped up

One of the joys of motherhood and recurring pregnancies is an ever-changing wardrobe as I cycle through sizes.  I recently went shopping in my closet and unearthed a pair of size 10 (yea!) pants that I was thrilled to be able to wear again.  Super-comfy, but one problem: the zipper wouldn't stay up.  I have a vague memory of the zipper being unreliable the last time I wore them, but now the lack of stay-upiveness was ridiculous.  Every time I squatted down or bent over, anything which put pressure on the zipper caused the slider to, well, slide.  Thoughts of replacing the entire zipper were daunting, but not out of the question.  The pants were a great fit, not a quality easily dismissed by a woman who has grown large with child five times.  Pants that make my hips look shapely are impossible to overrate.  On a recent trip home, my fabulous mother rescued me by producing a zipper repair kit.  Armed with the kit instructions and some online diagrams I went to work on my non-separating zipper with locking slide.  I removed the bottom zipper stop and several teeth.  Then I replaced the slider with one from her kit and stitched up the zipper tape once more.  Preliminary tests were encouraging and I was excited to try out my repair work.  Sadly, the new slider didn't stay up well either.  Fortunately, I was not yet out of ideas.  Guessing that I had put on the right size, but wrong kind of slider, I decided to try a slider from a worn out pair of my husband's pants.  After harvesting the slider, I carefully slipped both zipper tape into it.  The result?  Hip-flattering jeans with a new life.  I've been wearing these pants all day and the recycled slider has performed admirably.  My brain is coming apart at the seams, but at least my pants are all zipped up.