Friday, July 31, 2009

Rainy day fun

We found this thing on Facebook and have been playing with it today. We've been cracking up so hard, my face hurts. Here are some of the best.






Look at the rest HERE.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

wow

It is QUIET.
The baby is sleeping.
Niall has an appointment today with a dermatologist for that ongoing skin thing, and it's at 2pm. That is right in the middle of naptime, and we wouldn't be home in time to meet the school bus, so John is going to take him.
And since he would have to drive in to work, and then drive back here, and then drive to Chapel Hill (we have to go where we're referred, thanks, CHIP) so he took Niall to work with him.
Which means that it's just me and the baby.
And it's QUIET.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The NINO dress

I wanted to get this done in time for her offical nine months day yesterday, but I forgot how freakishly long it takes to make one of those cords. So here it is today!

The yarn is bambewe from Zenstring, though word on the street is that if you're in one of her clubs or order a custom it takes a loooooong time to get it. This was in stock though, and I got it while I was still pregnant. I just didn't know what to do with it until this dress.

The pattern is the SugarBubbie Halter. It's the same pattern that I used to make the dress for Sarah's baby. But this time I used the Bambewe yarn (merino and bamboo blend. So soft! So drapey!) instead of acrylic. I don't mind using yarn that has to be hand washed for my own stuff, but I won't give it as a gift unless you ask for it.

I think it came out super cute. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Nine months

It is difficult to impossible to get pictures of a nine month old baby who has figured out how to move and wants to do so. Add in a thunderstorm and the related bad lighting...



She is also hell bent on getting the camera cord.



Now... take the above conditions, and add in a request from Mom to get a picture of all three kids. It's comedy. Pure comedy.


I did get one that wasn't too terribly grainy.


But, my baby is nine months old. She has now been on the outside as long as she was on the inside. She still disdains most solid food, but has developed a liking for cheerios. She's progressed to an inchworm kind of crawl, and is still the apple of her brothers' eyes. She's everything we could ever have wanted in a little girl, had we known what to ask for. I can only imagine what this next 9 months will bring. Perhaps a full night's sleep? Even if no, I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

The internet is a magical thing

Someone sent me a forward recently, about how being a 30something curmudgeon complaining how kids these days have it so easy. How if you wanted to know something, you had to go to the library and look up a book in a card catalogue and then go find it. Remember that? Subject card, author card, title card!
It was a funny forward. At least my kids know what Pac Man is, because I cling to old school video games.
It made me think, though, about how I look up song lyrics all the time. And how when I was in high school we'd argue about what someone really said, and there was no way to know unless you had the copy of the lyrics that came with the tape - and sometimes they didn't even have the lyrics in them.
In particular was a song by the Cure. None of us had the lyrics. We all swore he said, "Two white chicks!" It was funny. I could randomly walk by Rachel (or Sarah before she graduated) and say, "two white chicks!" and they'd know just what I was saying and laugh. Fun times.
Today while I was lying down with Eleri, trying to get her to go to sleep, I remembered that song. So, I looked it up.
A few hours after this and we're apart again
Like two white checks
Like opposite poles
In a secret game
(Like nothing like these I suppose... )
I like our lyrics better. Two white chicks!

Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Fresh!

There is something to be said for picking something and then having it for dinner an hour later.

Green beans, from the garden, picked right before 5, eaten right after 6.

Our garden is pretty pitiful this year, all weedy and unkempt, and only has green beans and some tomatoes planted. But it's a first year garden, so I think we're doing pretty well. This is the second or third time I've picked beans, and they've paid for themselves many times over already. The tomatoes - Cherokee Purples - will only have to produce two to return their investment, and as there are several green tomatoes on the vine... mmmm I can taste the hummus and tomato sandwiches already. And let's not forget the bacon and tomato. YUM!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I'm trying to figure out what to tell you

Because I really don't know.
I have pics. They're on the camera. The cord is around here somewhere, but I'm not sure where.
I've been a little tired lately, because Eleri has been doing the fighting sleep thing, so it's been a long time between sanity breaks.
See, part of the problem is that creeping thing she's learned how to do. The video was really cute, wasn't it? She worked so hard to get across the floor to get that shoelace.
Now picture it as she's coming after YOU, so she can pull on your shirt to nurse, again. And she's moaning while she does it. And maybe one of her arms has gotten caught inside her sleeve so she's lurching along, one armed, moaning, and planning to eat you.
Yep.
She's also figured out how to get up that little lip of wood that separates her crib from my bed. So last night when she woke up wanting to nurse (before we came to bed. She is in our bed when we're there. The crib isn't used for much) she managed to climb out of the crib onto my mattress and was dragging her way across there and I was trying to pee before she could get to the edge and hurl herself to the floor like a giant, moaning lemming.
Because she has no sense of the edge. I tested this by hanging out on the bed with her while she slithered around. When she got near the edge, I held on to her ankle. She paused, and I was all proud of my smart baby, but then she went right over. I'm glad I wasn't so sure of her smartness as to let go of her.
So it's been a little nerve wracking around here. I'm hoping that tonight she decides to sleep a little more and moan a little less.

Monday, July 13, 2009

One week lost to the great beyond

So Eleri was sick last week. She had a fever that just would not go away.
sickpixie.jpg picture by sweetteasoakers
She hasn't slept on the boppy since she was bitty, but that's about as far away from me as she would consent to being. Her fever hovered around 101 and I had to give her Tylenol every 4 hours. She just felt rotten, and thus I didn't get anything else done. Not even posting here.

In all of that, Rowan had his first day of second grade!
2ndgradefirstday.jpg picture by sweetteasoakers
He's holding up his fingers to say: Second grade, day one.
This picture is acutally at the end of the day, since Eleri kept me up for a good chunk of the night before, Rowan and John decided to leave me sleeping and get to school without waking me.
Second grade is going well so far. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the year 'round school. He's going back to school, but it's not fall. Cool weather is not just around the corner. We still have hot, hot August to get through.

Eleri finally started feeling better again yesterday. It was a relief to see our smiling baby. It had been so long, we'd almost forgotten what it was like to not have her yelling at us. That's what her cry was like. It wasn't really a cry, it was more of a "ruuuuuuuuuuhhhh!" *shudder* Ya. Last week was rough.
But last night I was able to put the finishing touches on a baby gift.
Miss Cherry Dashwood by you.
That's the Miss Dashwood hat, done in caron simply soft and with the picture taken under really bad lighting conditions. But it's cute, and I'm going to make one for Eleri, too. I'd be tempted to keep this one if it would have fit her, but it's for a new baby and her head is too big.
I also have another baby gift to mail.
Sugarbubbie Halter by you.
This is the Sugarbubbie Halter dress, done in a yarn called Marble that I got at Great Yarns.
I also finished Eleri's snowblossom soaker, but have yet to get pictures. I need to weave in the ends. Why do I hate that part? It only takes a minute.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

oh yeah

I had big plans when I wrote that last blog post. I was all set to strap on my shoes and get going. I forgot that part of motherhood which states that the children are going to foil you every chance they get and it's going to take you a good week to get started.
They tag team you.

Today is the first day of second grade, so I planned on walking Rowan to school. We have to walk him into his classroom. That's just the way he operates. No sending him in to go there on his own - when it's something new Rowan needs us to go through it with him at least once. I'm okay with that. I was always nervous on my first day of school, too.

I did not count on having to begin my day at 3:30 though. And I did not sleep well enough for this to happen. But a certain member of this family decided to poo in the middle of the night, and now won't go back to sleep. It's times like this when I wonder how I'm still sane.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

It is time

I keep track of my weight in 5lb brackets. It's never the same two days in a row, but fluctuates between the 5 and 0, and I'm not telling you which 5 and which 0.
Really, the number isn't as important so much as how I feel. Well, the number has been a little important up to now. I've been waiting for it to get low enough so I won't destroy my knees if I start running. Bad knees run in my family, and mine make interesting noises and do creeky things.

Mom hates me running, but nothing helps me get in shape better. And I would rather run for half an hour and eat what I want than walk for forever and have to count calories. Counting calories does not work for me.

So, since I had a baby at the end of October and our town has a 5K at the end of October, I thought that would be a good fitness goal for me. I think that a year after having a baby, I should be able to at least complete a 5K. Not win. I'm not stupid. But I should be able to do it without major issues.

Enter the Couch to 5K program. I've done it before. It's what had me running before I had Eleri, and what had me wearing jeans that I bought while I was a college student. I still have the jeans! I want to wear them again. Not only that, I want to feel better and be fit. I saw my friend Julianne at BJs Wholesale last weekend. She'd just finished her first triathelon. Not only did she look strong and happy, she looked fantastic in her jeans. I want to be there, and I'm finally down enough poundage to start. Woo!

No, I'm not looking to do a triathelon. I can't swim for diddly. I just want to look good in my jeans.

So I've printed out the schedule. I can't promise that I won't be doing some of the weeks more than once as I get this post-baby body back into shape, but I can promise that I will be doing them. I'm even taking a before picture. Maybe some day I'll post it, along with my after picture, or maybe it will just be for me. Time will tell.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Pretty awesome

He was supposed to have been cleaning his room.
I couldn't really yell at him though. I mean, come on! I couldn't discourage this!
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g251/sweetteasoakers/Rowan/rowanknit1.jpg

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

I don't get tired of this

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Piggy tails.

Piggy tails who?

My piggy tails fell out while I was sleeping, and now I look like this!

naphead.jpg picture by sweetteasoakers

Yes, I know it's not really a knock knock joke, but they're all the rage around here.