it's all good

you know, i was having a good day. henry woke up grumpy, but that changed to a good mood fairly quickly. we ran some errands and both littles were a joy to be around.
henry trying on black high-heeled shoes, asking if the were tap shoes. put them back when i said no.
two littles humoring me as i speedily browsed. (did find a great pair of blue tights for myself and a great stripey consignment sweater for the boy).
huge crazy halloween store near where we were so i indulged henry by going in. he was being so good i couldn't say no the day before halloween. walked in said he didn't like the spooky stuff. we looked for a hot dog costume for bea. henry has been saying he wants bea to be a hot dog for the big night. i'm not big on getting her dressed up, but if i had seen one i probably would have snatched it up. (they did have a costume for child to be a ketchup bottle. what poor child wants to be ketchup for halloween - or do they just make those for people who have waited until 4 o'clock on halloween to get their kid a costume and there's nothing else to get?)
then. ah, then . . .

then we get home. i have two sleeping children in the car. i carry the girl into the house in her carseat. retrieve the boy but he wakes up. then i run upstairs to the bathroom. then i run back down. mad dash to get dinner started while bea is sleeping. then i notice the brown stuff all over the carpet. it had been raining most of the day. i assumed it was mud. i cleaned it up, put my shoes on the garage steps. get dinner going. go back in the garage. realize from the odor that was probably not mud on my shoe. great!!!!



and then that just unleashed all the craziness for the evening. matt working on a patina for a sculpture. i'm supposed to be photographing it. running in and out of the house making dinner taking photographs nagging henry letting the dog out taking photographs stirring dinner taking photographs (all the while bea is on my left hip - can't wait to see how the photos turn out). go to let dog in. she walks in i turn around to get back to dinner. realize she has something (this is going to be gross walk away now if you want) . . .



hanging out of her butt!!!!! i think i screamed in frustration. poor dog. i shoo her back out the door until i can get a grasp on the chaos inside. run onto the porch repeatedly telling henry NOT to open the door, bea crying her eyes out because i am outside and she is inside, me extracting the grass or whatever off mason's bum with elasti-girl arms because ewwwwww disgusting!!!! done. scrub scrub scrub hands. pick up bea tell henry for the 30th time that no he cannot have a gummy eyeball before dinner stir dinner take photographs back inside check on dinner realize that clean house i peacefully enjoyed last night while sipping wine, knitting, and watching 30 rock no longer exists. amazing. AMAZING! what can happen in about 2 hours!

here is where the problem started. i don't employ a chef.

okay, seriously. matt cooks most nights. he is a great cook. really really great. i am not. he has been so busy so i took over cooking for the week. and it was good and has been good. but i had planned for having leftovers the night he was doing the patina and that didn't happen as originally planned. so tonight i had this dinner planned. the one that was not that involved but a little too involved for me. what with all the other things i was involved in.

nights like this i just don't feel like a grown up. or that i can function well without matt. i know that really i can (function w/o matt (but would rather not). the grown-up thing totally eludes me), but tonight was not one of them.

so matt, thank you for stopping and picking up that giant bottle of wine. the house is in shambles and i'm okay with that. it's 8:30 - things have settled, one little is asleep in her bed and the other will soon be on his way. and the kitchen will be clean enough in no time.

amazing what can happen in an hour.

the birthday gifts

the birthdays in this house start at the end of august and run till the middle of october. it's often a mad rush of crafting and making. this year, not so much though. ideas were made enough in advance to get them going and completed in time. (well, that and a sane mama deciding to forego one thing and save it for christmas.)

for henry, three seemed like the perfect age for a cape. i found a pattern for a cape, but it wasn't quite what i had in mind.
so, i threw caution to the wind and made my own pattern! i was really pleased with the result, though the craftsmanship needs
some improving. henry chose all the fabrics. believe me the green sparkly was not my idea and i was actually a little hesitant about it. then i figured why not? what's a super hero if not a little flashy? in the end, i LOVED henry's choices.



next came matt's birthday and i while i didn't do the crafting, his gifts were crafty. i framed one of henry's watercolors from last year and also framed bea's first painting. i can't wait to hang them together!




and then, little bea's gift. bea got her very own weasley sweater. or as it is now called the beasley weasley sweater. the body of the sweater is knit from the yarn that would have been ursa and the "B" is knit from leftovers of henry's weasley sweater. i loved the combination of the three colors and that she had remnants of her brothers sweater in hers. i really adore this pattern but i wished i had remembered to lengthen the body of it. after i was done i recalled that henry's was a little short too. i think i could lengthen it by picking up and knitting a ribbed edge on the bottom, but right now it fits her just fine. if she has a growth spurt this winter i will need to make it longer. good thing she is a wee little thing!


overall the birthdays were complete and total successes! now onto christmas crafting . . .

i yam what i yam

he stands on her chair while she is strapped in. places a cracker on her belly.

tells her, "eat yer spinach, ya infink".

how to make a year fly by

i have figured out the secret for any who may want time to move at warp speed. just have another baby. that's what we did.
around this time last year we had a baby girl. next thing i know this little tow-headed babe (who really in my mind should only be 7 or 8 months old) has already had her first birthday!
how did this happen? where has the time gone? next thing i know she'll be shaving and painting her nails (don't even mention boys).
this. is. not. fair.
i protest.



what? too bad you say? well, foooey then.


miss beatrice harper enjoyed her day and celebrated with family in the evening. she requested (via henry) buckwheat pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner. (good call my boy). in lieu of cake, mimi made pumpkin bars. delicious and difficult to eat just one, ahem, i mean two.

this girl is a character quite like her sidekick big brother. she loves hats and masks. she can't stay still when she hears music. i predict she will be into heavy metal. i truly hope that because matt and i are completely lacking in the musical department (well, matt has a good voice) she doesn't get the raw end of that deal. she loves music. she loves trees, too. she likes to look up and smile at them. kind of like me. she's a climber with no fear. i have enough for her. yet she is very cautious when it comes to walking. still haven't figured that one out. she enjoys the sound of her own voice, especially in the evenings. she is shy and takes a while to warm up to new people. she doesn't like to go to sleep. she fights it every. single. time.
she likes to play in the dishwasher and she hands me the silverware one by one whether its time to unload or not. she is an excellent mimic. she tries to put on socks and shoes. she can take her shirt off by herself as evidenced the morning we went into her room to get her and she was topless. she gives great surprise kisses - that's about the only way you will get them, but they are so worth it. she likes hikes and long baths. she's so proud that she can stick her face in the water. her favorite word in 'nooooooo', though it is most often out of context (for now). she is sweet and squishy and small ( a wee 17 lbs ). and holy moly, somehow she is one!

not bad for a monday

today was one of those days where when i woke up i felt as if i had only slept for 3 hours instead of almost 7. and that was with bea giving me the treat of sleeping in an extra hour. lying in bed with her, then the boy comes in. it is still very dark out. matt is dressed for work. he comes in to tell us goodbye. henry beguiles him into lying with us for 5 more minutes (in the sweetest of ways). the window is open. it is raining hard and i can hear the leaves rustling in the trees.

matt reluctantly leaves for work. { i really dislike mondays for this reason }. henry snuggles in under the covers. i lie awake nursing bea hoping they might fall back asleep. henry speaks, "sun up?". i tell him soon. he reaches out and gently rests a hand on bea's head. we lay there quietly for some time. i am thinking how cozy and peaceful this is and what a gift it is to be able to wake up slowly and unhurried. enjoying the cool breeze coming in through the open window. listening and being lulled by the sound of the downpour and and the swaying of the trees.

coffee had already been made. another treat to wake up to. henry requests a frozen waffle. its his new breakfast. i sit at the table and sip coffee and start a little project to do with the boy. we work on it for a few minutes and then set it aside. we don't pick it up again until dinner is almost on the table.

morning goes on as usual. music, playing, interfering, laundry. my mom stops by on her way home from a doctor's appointment. henry wants to play star wars with her and barely gives her a moment to sit and visit. bea just goes about her business. mom entertains them in henry's room while i make lunch. ahh, naptime.



i leave the house as is. normally i would clean, fold laundry, pay bills, get sucked into any number of things on the web. instead i make tea, find a movie on netflix, then relax and pick up my needles. soon i am really cold. i shut the windows and wish it was truly cool enough for a fire. i grab a sweatshirt instead and am surprised that i need to long sleeves shirts. it is probably colder in the house than it is outside.

bea awakes and soon is busying herself in the play kitchen. i continue knitting. henry awakes and soon is busying himself with many things. i continue knitting. then things get risky and i put the knitting down. bea is dazzling herself with her climbing abilities today. she even says "ta-da" after a great accomplishment. i am going back and forth as to when i should intervene. telling myself i need to let her do this. that she may fall but that is okay if she doesn't get hurt too badly. she makes me extremely nervous. a week ago during an enthusiastic dance next to the coffee table she put a tooth all the way through her lip. soon henry has her laughing uncontrollably and he is doing the same. i notice the time and realize my day has zipped by and feel this is kind of a bewitching hour. the littles are rested and content today and soon matt will be home, the steady gray and rain has made this the perfect day for settling down and all feels really really right.

discovering youtube

the other day we were poking around on youtube. henry was watching this choir for a while (which i found here the other day.)
i leave the room and come back and he is watching this

seriously. i have no idea how he got from ps22 to pomplamoose, but i loved his discovery. he liked it because she wears a batman shirt. i like it for their take on songs. quirky, fun, danceable. of course, it has been a bit odd hearing henry saying 'single ladies' and 'put your hands up' repeatedly. and bea sings the ohh ohh ohh part while bobbing her head.

our favorite though, has been this one. lots of dancing and hysterical laughing (you have to see bea's moves). not to mention its just a great song. just try to sit still.

they do covers of a great variety (and they have originals too), all of them totally enjoyable.
and boy am i relieved that was all he discovered on youtube . . .

knitting update

the knitting is going on full force here.
one item is ready to be blocked (i always procrastinate here). i probably won't get around to that until the weekend.
i hope to finishing one stocking and start the next one over the weekend.
and somewhere between all that i have plans to start this little number. i have to admit i am a sucker for berroco. patterns and yarn.
i don't know about you but i have the most difficult time picking out the yarn for a pattern. the pattern is the easy part. the yarn and color, i agonize over sometimes. and in this case it was no different. i am not much of a hat wearer. the climate here doesn't call for it too often. last year the boys got their hats, so this year is the year for the girls. i finally decided on berroco's new vintage wool in sloe berry for my little hat. this yarn is a steal. i bet there will even be enough left over for the bea.

what is on your knit list this fall?

the going's on around here

lately the posts i have in my head (what? you can't see those?) have not been making it onto the screen. then i feel like they are backing up and my brain is getting clogged. okay, maybe not - but wouldn't that be a great excuse as to why i am so scattered?
you say the tag on my car is expired? i'm sorry that must the blog clog.



so, rather than feel like i have to travel back in time (for example: i've been meaning to share a post about the cape i made for henry's birthday - more than a month ago!!) and update you on everything i meant to post, i'll just make it easy and more bearable for all of us by starting back with the recent happenings. okay?

i've been working on a new knit, but am trying my best to hold off on sharing it just yet. i still need to block and seam, but it's a little thing for bea on her birthday. hard to believe she is almost one. this has been the quickest year of my life. any advice on how to make these things slow down? goodness.

christmas stockings are in the works still too. but haven't finished one yet. (can you guess what i'll be doing after i hit publish?)

i have set up an official sewing area too! this is quite a big deal to me. usually it would just take up space on our dining table and i would have to shuffle projects out of the way or stow the machine in a cabinet. not very conducive for getting projects started. of course now that i have a designated area where the machine can stay out and be seen i have those knitting things that have to get done. maybe i should do seasonal crafts. knitting half the year, sewing the other . . .
i can't seem to do both this time of year.

oh, and i forgot how old i was. seriously. and i was a little bit disappointed. i thought i was 32. i wasn't. my birthday was coming up and i was excited about turning 33. which i wasn't going to do. because i was 31! not that 32 isn't exciting. so far it has been. i can just look forward to 33 that much longer. right?

as a fantastic completely unexpected birthday surprise (from matt and his mom) i got a new lens for the ol' camera. i haven't been able to play with it too much yet, but so far i am l-o-v-i-n-g it!
one of my favorite flickrites, shades of mediocrity, led me to this lens. i love her work and noticed she used this lens quite a bit. so i poked around some of the flickr pools for this lens and really liked everything i was seeing. i kept going back to them debating whether i really wanted this as the next toy/tool for my camera. the more i read and saw, the more i did. i just though i'd be pining for it for much longer than i did. i am really, really looking forward to bonding with it. it feels like i have a brand new camera!


shot with the new lens (otherwise totally unrelated to the post)