Yard Art

After that downer of a knitting post, it's time for a pick me up. In fact, it's the perfect time to tell you about the yard art place.
I've been wanting some sort of random animal to stick in the yard for a long time now. It all comes from when we were in school and John and I would be driving back to Columbia after a weekend of visiting the upstate. Right after we got past malfunction junction, there was a house that was right off the interstate. Their back yard faced the road. And on the roof of their shed, facing the road, was a big concrete pig. It was always painted some new, bright colors -- flourescent orange, striped, polka dotted... It made me happy. I called it Neon Pig.
I've wanted my own version of Neon Pig since then.
So anyway, this year for Mother's Day, we decided that it was time to go look for our animal at the yard art place that's next to the state farmer's market. And boy howdy, did they have everything.
I knew they would have a bunch of cool stuff, because right outside the front gates are these huge giraffes.

They're huge. Seriously somewhere around 10 feet tall. I would love to have one. Spring said to imagine how easy it would be to give directions to my place? "Turn left at the giant giraffe." But he was way out of my league, and anyway the guy who does the casting said he's not ready to say goodbye anyway. :)
I'd thought about having a hippo before we went, and sure enough they had them.

But the big ones looked mean with their mouths all open like that, and the smaller ones just looked strange. Like hippos on X, or whatever drug it is that would make a person all crazy-eyed. Sorry, I'm not all up on what drugs do what.
We saw Elvis.

And a Yoda or two.

And a Barney that didn't look so "I love you"-ey as the regular Barney does...

And of course, the mailbox homie that I talked about earlier. I still think we need to go back and get him. Maybe someday...
But anyway, we had a great time on a hot, hot day, and came home with a new friend for the yard.

There are possibilities with knitting, and painting. He has yet to be named, and I need to figure out where to put him, but isn't he cool? I have a giraffe for my yard!

*******ADDED DECEMBER 12, 2010*******

I've had a number of people email me about this place, especially about the Yodas. So I looked up an article about it to pass on.
http://goodnightraleigh.com/2010/06/the-guardians-of-lake-wheeler-road/

It says they don't ship, though. So if you're not within driving distance to Raleigh you may be out of luck.

FO

And that's all I have to say about that.

Famous last words

*sigh*
So, way back, a long time ago, maybe February? I don't know... Jessica asked me if I'd knit some britches for her twins. I said, "sure!" because, yay itty bitty twin pants! Yay!
She also asked if I could make a pair for her toddler, more for next fall than for right now. I said sure to that one, too.
So then I found a pair of mostly finished britches in my basket. I asked her what size she'd need. They were about that same size. They were actually pants that I'd been making for Niall when he decided that he was going to start using the potty, and pants made of yarn were for babies. I emailed her a picture, she said that they looked great. And then I said it...

It was so stupid of me.

I said, "And these won't take long at all, because they're almost done!"

Some of you are wondering what's so wrong with that, but some of you - those of you who knit - are slapping your foreheads and saying, "Good Lord, woman. What's wrong with you? Are you INSANE?"

The first problem was when I knit the second leg on the wrong size needles, and had to go back and rip it out. You see the date on that? Feb.

I put them in time out. I finished the twin pants and sent them on, because the babies were going to be born and they needed their pants. I redid the leg, and pestered Jessica for the waist measurement.

And then, when I was putting the elastic in the waist, A GREAT GAPING HOLE appeared.

As near as I could figure, the blue had had a knot in it, and I ignored it because at that point I was making them for personal use and I wasn't going to fiddle with that. NEVER again.

I tried to darn it. I was not darnable. I ran a lifeline and cut off the waistband and knit on a ribbed band. I had to take that off because it made the rise way too big. I knit a waistband and tried to graft it on. That didn't work either, because the yarn was getting felty and I'm too stupid to do a graft that is 100ish stitches long. Okay, maybe I'm not too stupid, but I don't get enough alone time to do a graft that long and if I don't chant to myself while I do it then I lose my place.

They went back in time out. I felt guilty. So, so, so guilty. I put aside all my own knitting. I could not work on anything that was for us when I wasn't getting this done! But I couldn't do it. I just. couldn't. do it.

For the first time in a long time, I wasn't knitting. At all. And I felt like crap. But what was I going to do?

I worried it and worried it and finally figured out a way. I picked up stitches along my lifeline edge and knit up. I folded it over. and I used yarn to stitch it down. It actually looks pretty good. I'm impressed with myself. I took pictures at one point, but what I was trying didn't work out so many times I just quit doing it.

But it had taken so long, that I needed to do a penance piece. Do you see where this is going? I bet you do.

I thought I'd knit a pair of shorties. I chose some pretty yarn. I knit a waistband in a contrasting color. I joined the yarn. There was a break. I fixed it and knit. There was another break. and another. and another. and another. It was a bad ball. I threw the whole thing away. I never do that, but I did this time. I chucked it in the can and I did not look back.

I got out more yarn, but it had been even longer. Was it worth it to keep her pants here (even though it's too hot to wear them now. We do live in the South after all) just so I could make myself feel better by making something extra?

I found some wool crepe fabric that I had planned to make some shorties with. I made a pair. They were too big. I got another pattern and make another pair. They were nice. And then I decided to dye them.

Why I hadn't learned, I will never know.

I am not good at dying fabric. I can dye yarn because I paint it. Fabric is an adventure.

So now, my sink looks like an autopsy, and the shorts are a color that I would call reddy brownish strange. They are in the wash now. I hope they are dry by tomorrow so I can send them. I hope Jessica likes them. I need this to be over. I need to sit down with something nice and easy to knit, like a dishcloth.

Party pictures

While I have a quick minute...

And that was the birthday party.

Yes I have pictures. No they are not up yet

They aren't even off the camera yet.
Why? Because there is a little person here who has decided that sleep is for the weak.
And yet, if she is left to her own devices, she starts meowing.
So I'm trying to be there for her and/or get her to go to sleep already for pete's sake.
You'll notice the time. It seems that skimping on your naps means that we get to have a midnight party, too.
Yay.

Party Recap

In John's words - the birthday party. Pictures to come. I have to get them off the camera and process them for posting, and I'm a bit tired at the moment.

---

We had a whirlwind cleanup and preparation on the living room, kitchen,
bathroom, and back yard. The shed is moved now, but there is a rough
patch of dirt, leaves, random varmint holes and vines where it used to
be, which was a potential hazard. Milli painted dog faces on the kids.
We set up an impromptu obstacle course (like the show dogs do) with
tubes they had to crawl through and cones they had to weave through...
but mostly, they ran around going nuts on each other and playing in
the sandbox and swinging. The new swingset is so very worth it. Niall
will spend hours out there by himself in that sandbox. We made
"pupcakes" which are pink cupcakes with white frosting. We had the
kids put the dog faces on them using:

Chocolate Chips - eyes
Large marshmallows cut diagonally - nose
Strawberry Starburst, rolled out flat and cut to shape - tongue (with
the line added using a toothpick)
Tootsie Roll, rolled flat and cut to shape -- ears
Black frosting - spot on the end of the marshmallow for the nose.

I'm not sure how much they got out of it, but they did build them and
promptly destroyed them with their gaping maws. We had chips,
Cheetoh's, juice boxes, some candy from goody bags, and some Pop-Ice
popsicles. There were about 5 kids from his school that came. Two of
the mothers stayed, and a couple of others were present for the last
30 minutes of it. Some of our friends came with their kids, including
two other mothers. And some of the neighborhood kids were there as
well. So about 15+ kids, one toddler, and one baby. And Loki, who was
quite entertained and entertaining. She is now sacked out on the
couch. Rowan got a few flying plane things, some Lego kits and a large
watergun. He had a grand time being the center of attention. Niall
snuck off and consumed all of the unused "tongues" and most of the
remaining "ears." He likely ate some eyes and noses as well, I'm not
sure.

After the party was over, we set them loose in the culdesac where they
had some sprinkler time with the neighbors. We grilled hamburgers for
dinner. I'm exhausted and I smell like sweat, artificial fruit
flavoring and charred meat. The boys are over at the neighbor's house
watching a movie or playing a video game or whatever. I don't care.
It's time for them to go to bed. I still don't care.

and another day

What happened? I have no idea where the day went. No clue. I spent a lot of time nursing the baby. I took zyrtek today so my brain turned off.
Trying to dig a garden without a tiller is HARD.
Fran, we got the mabel dress. It's way cute. I have pictures somewhere. I have to find my brain to figure out how to make them appear online.Oh look. I can do something right.

7 years old, already?

Today, I had a baby.

Oh, wait. I guess he looks like this now.

How in the world did that happen?
You can read my sentimental claptrap here.
Other than that, have some pictures.

His actual party is Saturday. Stay tuned for another picture blitz.

stereotype much?

We went to the yard art place today. I've been wanting to go for FOREVER, and it was my treat for Mother's Day this year. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. It was way fun, even though it was 90 degrees.
But I wanted to go ahead and post this little gem. He was there among the concrete animals and bird baths, just chillin'. We were laughing hard at the details. I almost want to go back and get him and give him a home next to the mailbox. Doesn't everyone need a mailbox homie?

peace out.

Friday Flick - Derailed

Whatcha doing, Mom?
Are you taking a video?
A picture?
Can I see?
Can I look?
I'm hungry.
Is it about me?
Is it about Eleri?
Do you need me to sing?
Can I have a snack?
I have to pee.
Where are we going?
Can we go outside?
Want to take a video of me and Eleri outside?
Can we go to the store?
Can we go get a hotwheels car?
I'm hungry.
Whatcha doing?

When the rest of the world has gone crazy

When all the news is about swine flu, the economy, banks and the auto industry, storms, budgets, war, calamity...
There's a lot to be said for the simpler pleasures.
A cold creek on a hot day. A few minnows and a bucket.
Whatever else I may do wrong, at least I've managed to provide this basic joy to my boys.
And that, in my opinion, is a lot.

Look what she can do!

We have achieved another milestone!

Life is so much more interesting now. Sitting opens up a lot of doors. There are things to pat, grab, and squeeze. Bathtime is awesome with the splashing.

Toys are so much cooler when you can see a bunch of them in front of you and fling them around.

Most of our sitting time is still on the big bed because of moments like this. Sitting is so exciting, it's hard to remember how to keep it going sometimes! One little kick and over we go!

Another blog

I've been trying to get some things done around here, and set up a new blog as well. Something has to give, and for the past couple of days it's been this blog.
But the new one is up and running now.

http://rowansodyssey.blogspot.com

All updates craniofacial will be there.

Niall sings to Eleri

I've been trying to get video of Niall playing with Eleri for ages. He's so sweet with her, but every time he sees the camera he goes for the overkill and ends up being too rough. So I just asked him to sing to her so you can get an idea of the sweetness.

Not worried

I'm not worried about the Swine Flu. It's all over the news and people out there are going all nutzo about it, but really... Maybe I'm just stupid or something.
I do have asthma. And I have a kid who has asthma. And I have a baby. But I'm still not worried. We don't use public transit (not available), we don't go out to the movies or anything... Rowan is at school and John works on a university campus... but... It just seems silly to worry so much about something like that. Wash your hands before you eat. Wash your hands when you get home from going to the store. Keep your fingers out of your mouth. All those things you do to keep from getting the regular flu - just do that. Sure, there's no shot, but MOST people don't get the shot anyway, and they make it through every winter just fine.
I may sound callous, but the deaths are over reported. Over 30,000 people die every year from the regular flu. 236 cases (not deaths, just cases!) isn't going to make me get my panties in a wad. It's just not. And I'm not going all nuts on the antibacterial soap. Flu is viral anyway.
I think that if the media had anything else to talk about, this wouldn't be hyped up so much. They're just tired of talking about the failing car industry and stupid banks. If they had anything else to talk about, this wouldn't be such a big deal.

_______________________________

I love it when Niall tells on himself. I was just putting him down for a nap and he said, "Mommy, I hid a car in my bed because I don't want you to find it. So don't take it!"
I didn't.

Family Hair Update

Because you know the state of our hair concerns you. ;)
I got my hair cut today. It was long overdue. The last time I had it cut was before I got pregnant with Eleri. I went to the hair place that my neighbor, Heather, recommended.

I think she did a good job!

Rowan's mohawk is back in action.

Niall once again has a "fuzzy head."

And you have to get Eleri's hair wet to see how long it really is.

John and Loki's hair remain unchanged.

6 month well check

Our Pixie baby is a dinky girl! 24.25 inches - 10th percentile
14lbs 11.5oz - 25th percentile.

Awww.

No shots today. She was due for some, but I refused until the snotty goes away. No sense in making things worse when it's not really time sensitive. A nurse shot visit in a week or two will be fine.

After her ped visit, I decided to head over to the mall and check out the sale at Gymboree. I have to admit, I'm a Gymbo failure. Even with the sale prices, I can't bring myself to buy. The stuff is cute, great quality, well made... but I grew up shopping at the Ramblin' Rose.
Ahh the Ramblin' Rose. It smelled like attic - kind of dank, kind of musty. It was Mom's favorite store in the universe. I hated going. It felt like we were there for hours, but it probably wasn't really that long at all. Over the years it got better. I discovered that I could get some good books there. We moved away before I was really old enough to appreciate all that was possible at the old RR, which is too bad. Mom still hasn't lost the thrift store bug, though, and I love to go with her whenever possible.
All this to say, I'm a thrift store mama. And maybe next summer those cute shirts that I saw at Gymbo today will show up at the Children's Orchard or the Guardian Angel.

6 months old!

I've spent the day trying to get pictures. Still working on that. Someone would rather stand up ALL. THE. TIME. God forbid I put her down and make her actually be on the floor.

I did make her a new dress. And here's what she looks like when she gets to do what SHE wants to do.

The hair, the hair, it's everywhere.

The hair - post pigtails.

Massive amounts of snot will wreck your fashion sense

Yes, I'm sorry to admit it, but all that snot is never a good thing, especially when you combine it with all of that hair. You can look at me like that all you want to. It's just not a good combo.

You see... when you have all that snot... it makes a lovely cement to stick your hair to your cheeks. This calls for drastic action.

Yes. I am aware of how it looks. You're cute enough to pull it off. Just go with it.

Don't look at me like that! It's not my fault! Okay maybe a little. I did pass on the massive snot genes to you. Your dad did, too. Did you see the size of his nose? And you can blame your brothers' coughing on you for the cold. That was all them.

You can make this work. You have the power of cute on your side. No one else could pull off a 'do like this. Remember the primary objective. Hair crusted to your cheeks is not a good look for anyone. Insane pigtails? If your brother can rock a mohawk, you can do this. Just dig deep.

It's a tough job, but you make pigtails look easy. Even if they're sloppily done by your wack-job, sleep deprived, decongestivated mother.

See? The added sheen of snot on your cheek just adds to it.

Cinderfella

His wife will thank me some day.
Really, when you get down to it, cleaning the toilet is the perfect job for Niall. I put in the cleaner and do the preliminary swish, and then he gets to stand there and swirl and swirl until there is a bunch of suds. It's superfun!
The hall bath is the boys' bathroom, and I don't know what they do in there but standard cleaning is not enough. Standard cleaning still leaves that oh so lovely urine reek. John tells me that his mom resorted to mounting plexiglass on the wall next to the toilet when he was a boy, because they were ruining the wallpaper - so they must come by it honestly.
But ya. Bathroom cleaning from now on is going to mean that Niall puts on his bathing suit and we go in with a bucket of Dr. Bonner's and hose the place down. 'Cause the standard job just isn't going to do it.

They think I don't know...

She thinks I don't know about her.
She thinks I don't see the way her eyes light up when he walks into the room.
The way her eyes follow him wherever he goes.
The hair on his collar.
The way his hand will absently seek her out, even when he isn't paying attention.
Oh ya.
I see it.
I know about her... the other woman.
The wife always finds out.

snork

We are sick. Eleri has her first cold. It's very pitiful. Last night she was just lying in bed with me, whimpering.
So I'm not worrying about the friday flick. If someone does something cute today, I'll film it and maybe get around to posting it. But I wouldn't count on it. We're all snotty noses and puny feeling here.

Accomplished

• Get fitted for nightguard: check
• Lunch with John: check
• knit night: check
• portrait of the kids:

check.

Don't worry, Grandparents. You have an 8x10 copy waiting for you.

That was a lot for a day. I'm off to bed now. 'Night.

True to form

I wrote this for the blog on April 6, 2006:

With streaming eyes
And wads of kleenex in my nose to stop the drips
I stand guard on my front porch
Perched in my chair
Sipping tea and knitting
Wiping the accumulated goo from my eyelashes
I smile at the chirps and twitters
As I look at the flowers and the yellow dust that coats the world
I feel the sun on my skin and the breeze on my face
Knocked slightly demented by antihistimine
I am determined to enjoy this season
Even if it kills me.

It would be true today, except I don't have a front porch anymore and I can't take the antihistimane that knocks me silly because of the whole nursing the baby thing. I think I was nursing Niall at that point, but he was older and didn't sleep in my bed. Oh well.

Today I am snot-tay. Pixie wants to sleep, and probably would if I could go without sneezing long enough. As it is she's meowing in her saucer and blowing raspberries. That's her new thing. Her shirt is always soaked. I'm going to have to find the bibs.

It's Monday! Laundry day! Compounded by getting out the summer clothes! And diapers! And and and! But I'm making chili for dinner and I'm thinking cookies are in order too. It's overcast and dreary. We should have cookies.

I did take egg dyeing pictures. I have to get them off the camera. There are no Easter clothes pictures because I'm planning on taking the kids to portrait innovations for that. I think I'll go make that appointment right now.

Friday Flick!

Someone is growing up entirely too quickly.

Confession

I am an unwilling cosleeper.

I didn't plan on it. Rowan never coslept. There was no lying down to feed him. I had to squeeze the milk into him, burp him multiple times for every feed, hold straight upright so it wouldn't come out through his nose... It was a labor intensive process.
And then I had to put him down and pump so I could do it all over again. There were times that he would be crying in his bassinet and I couldn't do much because I was pumping and was half dead on my feet and barely coping as it was.

And then there was Niall. He was SO EASY to feed. I learned to nurse lying down. I fell asleep. I woke up when he wanted to nurse again and I would roll over and give him the other side. I fell back asleep.
I finally booted him from my bed when he was 10 months old and a very greedy, rude sleeper.

I have fallen into that situation again. Eleri snuzzles up to me and I fall asleep while nursing her. She wants the other side, we move and do it all again. And I thought that I was going to try to move her into her side-carred crib.

yeah, right.

I put her in there the other night because she was meowing and smacking around, and I was tired. She meowed a little more and then just rolled over and went to sleep! By herself! Without nursing!

I thought victory was mine! I stretched out, luxurious under the blanket that I could pull all the way up to my shoulders and not have to worry about smothering my precious little baby. And I lay there. And lay there. And couldn't. fall. asleep.

Finally at about 12:30 I got her out of her crib and pulled her back into the bed with me. I nursed her a little since that woke her up, and then we both drifted off. I admit it. I didn't want this, but now I can't fall asleep without my living, breathing, little teddy bear. I have cold shoulders. I'll deal.

---

Thanks for all the comments on the state of the house vs. life. It's good to know that there are other people on the same page. And you know, it makes me wonder...

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we care so much that we rush around squirreling things away when we know someone is coming over? Why do we present a better face to the public than we present to our own families?

I think that this is something I need to work on. I think I need to have it nicer for my family and not worry so much about the guests. Maybe my friends are secretly glad to see the screwdriver on the mantle and the stack of whatever that is in the corner, because they have the same thing at home. I think I want to keep it a little nicer around here than it is today, and have that be the face that the world sees, too.

And then I really want to tackle my bedroom. It should be my sanctuary instead of being the catch all for what I'm hiding from the rest of the house.

Does it count if the fruit/veggie portion of my lunch is salsa?

You bet it does. That means I'm eating.

You see, that's one of the things about being here at home. Some days, most days, I'm just pulled in so many different directions that I forget what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Like feeding myself.
Most days I feel like I didn't get anything done at all.
Some days I spend forever doing a simple thing like changing the look of this blog, and suddenly it's 2pm. The kids have been fed etc and are napping, but what happened to me in all of that?
I'll tell you what happened. I'm still in my jammy pants. That's what happened.

I'm sure most moms are like this. I have the kids, the house, the laundry, the food, editing, cleftadvocate, soggy granola, the birth defects board at babycenter, real physical people here in town, the list goes on and on and I really should have cleaned the carpets this weekend but the carpet machine is sitting by the ironing board in the kitchen right where it's been sitting all week.

And none of it (aside from making sure everyone is fed and reasonably sanitary) is VITAL. It's all just... stuff. The stuff I do. The bits and pieces of things that make up what I've ended up doing with my life. It will get done, eventually, and until then...

Sometimes I think that I should be one of those people who has the sparkling house. Everything has a place and everything in it. But then would I take a whole day to make a blog prettier because I wanted to? Would I go edit fanfiction for people that I don't actually know in real life because it helps both of us learn in the process? Would I pop in on a forum several times a day just to see what's going on?

I think I'd be lonely.

And so here I am. Pulled in however many directions, but getting some of it done. Sometimes.

fiddling again

I'm going to be fiddling with the look of this thing again. So if it looks screwy, it's not you. It's me.

Walky bike

Okay! This is Niall on his walky bike. What's a walky bike? It's what we call a balance bike. In this case - a 12" bike that has had pedals, chain and guard, and whatever else removed.
The theory is that a child will learn to balance better if they use their feet to push them along instead of using training wheels. The bike has to be low enough to do this comfortably, and once they get going fast enough a kid will raise their feet and balance without paying too much attention - it just comes naturally.
It worked great for Rowan, and it's working again. Not bad for a bike that we got for free from the neighbors! So here's the Friday Flick that was supposed to happen while the laptop was in the shop.

it's back

The laptop is home again. We're getting reaquainted. And I haven't been sleeping well lately, so my brain is oatmeal. I'm trying to upload some video now. Stay tuned.