1. I hate wearing pantyhose.
2. The word pantyhose doesn’t make sense.
3. I did not shave my legs today.
4. The combination is not the most attractive. Not even the second most attractive.
Internet theoretically comes back on today. Stay tuned for more gems.
I’m waging a war with our Internet provider and I’m losing miserably. The little babes have been sick. Dude’s been sick. I’ve been sick. I guess we all need a break.
Hope to be back in this space soon. Happy new year!
Apparently I have two kitty cats. Merry belated merry, all!
- while walking, lil miss spied some bell ornaments. she called them “ring-a-bells.” “jingle bells,” the song, is also “ring-a-bell, ring-a-bell…”
- trying to get your own children to pose for a photograph is like asking a dog to make out with a cat.
- apparently there is a pile of glitter somewhere. bean’s head is covered in it.
- i am sporting bruises on my chin, arms, and shoulders. bean is auditioning for the new dyson vacuum cleaner role.
- breast pump flanges are multi-functional, per lil miss. they also function as cameras and stethoscopes. feel free to come over so she can take your picture or give you a physical.
- i gave lil miss her first haircut today, without a bowl. it’s astonishingly ok. the dude only shed a couple of tears.
- there is nothing better than holding 20 pounds of baby chub.
- unless, said baby chub is accompanied by a christmas cookie exchange.
- is it odd to clean before someone comes over to clean your house? because i totally am. and yes, i totally have someone coming over to clean my house tomorrow. between two sick kids, a sick dude, and me, well, it’s just not working out. white flag, dust bunnies. you play a mean game.
- i finished up that bulky cowl in an evening = win.
- i blocked that cowl to realize i had a dropped stitch = lose.
- thank God for christmas cookie consolation.
lil miss is in school. gah. growingupsofast. anyhow, that’s not what i am ruminating on in this post. nope! today, we decided to pause the clock a bit and have a mommy and lil miss day. we did some merry making for the teachers in our lives.
for lil miss, we made some cards and she dictated what was to be written. the messages:
“you are my teacher. i miss you. i got star crayons. i got rapunzel doll. i love you. merry christmas.”
“i got an opal (a pig dollie). i go to school today. i’m going to see santa. merry christmas. i like you, you are my teacher.”
“i love you. merry christmas. i’m making snowflakes and i’m coloring. i’m going to color my paper.”
these little streams of consciousness are so dear to me. it’s going to be so odd when she learns to filter her thoughts.
we also made some goody bags for two of the teachers who sew. one of them studied costume design in college. when i found that out, i immediately wanted to ask her out to a playdate, sans lil miss. um… awkward? but, someone who sews! how fun! and she’s teaching the other teacher in lil miss’ primary class. so here they are:
handmade drawstring pouches, pin cushion jars, and notions. the pin cushion jars were really fun. lil miss chose the fabrics and helped put them together. basically, they are 4 oz canning jars with cotton filling on top, secured by the fabric (which is glued on the underside). lil miss loves her little “cupcake” pincushions. we’ll see how she does when it’s time to give them away.
also, we made a ton of cookies for the dude’s cookie exchange at his school for his department. these cookies. you need to make them now because… oh boy. these are addictive. ridiculously good. it’s like having a christmas party in your mouth. someone needs to make them illegal because i will eat every last one. good thing that just about all of them are going tomorrow.
(blah. photos taken indoors with no flash. blah.)
also also, watching the lil miss wield a meat tenderizer to pound the mints with such abandon was such fun. it was the perfect activity: her lack of finesse was just what was needed to pulverize the candies. and she was really good at dipping the cookies into the white chocolate and then into the candies. i mean, she didn’t put her finger in the bowl of chocolate or anything! obviously did not learn that type of restraint from me.
also, though i said i wouldn’t, i casted on another project. BUT! bulky yarn! a cowl! i only have 55 yards of it anyhow… so it’ll be fast and stress free, right? right. plus, it’s plymouth’s bulky alpaca yarn which is butter in yarn form. so any stress over the holidays is relieved by just stroking it.
and to be honest, i think i’m over stressing at this point. i’m at this oddly zen place where i understand that the world isn’t going to end if i don’t get things done. people will continue to be who they are in my life regardless of whether or not they get these things. when i finally do get them done, perhaps they’ll join me in thinking that it’s nice to get things throughout the year?
****
bean decided yesterday that it was going to be THE day to crawl. and you know what? it’s a good thing that i have those piles of clean laundry lying around and not put away. because, and mind you i’m not necessarily saying that this happened nor that it might have happened when lil miss first was starting to crawl either, a certain baby might have just crawled off the bed and landed in a nice cushy pile of laundry. so, i might just have to let those piles stay. you know, for the children.
ok. i concede defeat. handmade christmas is just going to have to wait. the two kiddos have been taking turns swapping illnesses. there’s the ever present ridiculous mountain of stuff that i thought i was going to get done but really? it’s already december 19. there’s no way it’s going to get done. (note: this also includes all the clean laundry that is literally sitting in piles on the guest bed downstairs. but hey! it’s clean!)
and? i’m ok with that.
plus, i have @KnittingRyanG on twitter to comfort me. for you knitting folks, go check it out. he might give you a glass of wine too.
the holidays are here. how does one know? well, there are the gingerbread lattes available at starbucks (or the salted caramel mochas which are my favorite addiction). holiday twinkle lights. wreaths popping out on doors. christmas trees playfully peeking out of windows. christmas music on the radio.
at my house? it’s the burn on my arm from the iron, the never ending knitting, long nights of sewing, the sleeve that somehow i might have sewn onto the wrong bodice part, the scraps of fabric littering the house, the constant search for chibi needles, the frenzied eyes as i realize that it’s already december 14th (no, you calendar, you are lying! we are so not going to be friends, are we?).
oh. and dismembered ornaments as they meet tragic fates in the hands of a toddler.
***
but, it’s not all bad. we’re using an advent calendar and it’s been fun. it mostly involves just the lil miss as the bean is too young to appreciate anything other than a whisk for his gumming pleasure. yesterday, we went to a shop and picked out nail colors for an at-home manicure. lil miss stated emphatically to the nice lady at the shop that she wanted “santa colors. santa red and sparkles.”
so here they are.
this is the first time i’ve painted her nails, and i have to say her little hands are awfully cute with “sparkle santa colors.” my goodness, i love that little girl.
***
187 squares. this is the finished top for the bean. lil miss’ is up next, another 187 squares. 187+187+christmas deadline = a bijillion quadrillion squares.
(oddly, the top looks unfinished. i took this photo by hanging the top onto a curtain rod. the fading sun caused the seams to look super prominent giving it an overall unfinished look. but, thankfully for this mama, this top really and truly is pieced and done.)
so, remember all that yarn i had misplaced? yeah. that yarn. well, it turns out that it was in the storage tower that is in the guest bathroom.
do i use that guest bathroom? no.
i have no idea what possessed me to put that yarn in there. i’d love to say that lil miss put it there but i’d be blatantly lying. and i do want to be on the nice list this year.
well, here it is. one of the handmade gifts for christmas, specifically for my brother-in-law’s long time girlfriend. it’s the honey cowl from madelinetosh using malabrigo. i’m not gonna lie. this cowl felt like it took an eternity. like i ought to actively look into age defying facial creams because that’s how long it was taking me – i was aging with each and every stitch.
but?
look at it. it’s gorgeous. if i do say so myself. so, i am going to be casting on another one. right now.
and here’s another handmade gift for someone very dear. this is purlbee’s colorblock hand warmers made with madelinetosh merino light. you guys, this may be my most favorite yarn i’ve used. it is unbelievably soft and the fabric. oh, the fabric. this is going to be hard for me to gift.
the colors are luminescent – they really have a pearly sheen to them. amazing.
the pattern? well, they’re kinda like legwarmers for your wrists and hands. they’re slouchy and comfy. kinda like boyfriend jeans. you know, if he isn’t the hipster type wearing those skinny jeans that make me jealous because really i can’t even fit into those jeans and those guys are flaunting it and really i should end my rant on hipster guy skinnyjeansrightherebecauseicouldprobablygoonandonandon.
and here’s a preview of things to come. a very special boy is going to be entering our lives come spring. and he is going to be a very blessed boy because his parents are awesome. (and really, i should say here that all of my siblings are/will be awesome parents. they just have a huge heart for children, you know?)*
*see, if one were being diabolical or cynical, they’d think that i was just typing this to get on said nice list. but! i really do mean this. my brothers and their wives are genuinely awesome.
from soulemama:
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
