greetingarts

made it myself

Rebecca got a new camera from Mom and Dad at Christmas (Santa doesn't get credit for this one), and after the purchase of new lithium batteries, we're back on track with Kiddley's photo theme. 

A pom pom, ruler, pipe cleaner (excuse me, I mean chenille stem), foam shapes, and the ubiquitous sticky tape.  Just a few moments later, I'm face to face with... a character.



Rebecca thought it up, twisted it, taped it and took the photo herself.

I love it so much.

Peaksville, Ohio

The baby (okay, she'll be 2 in April, but she's still a baby to me) has taken to waking up from her nap and crying hysterically (I mean, really screaming, kicking, tear-spurting, gagging hysterics), and nothing,  not one.single.thing, will calm her down for like thirty minutes, sometimes closer to almost an hour.  Seriously, now, let's think about how long that is.

I'll wait.

Yes.  It's a very very *very* very long time.  Especially when your four year old is also starting to have a total breakdown (caused, of course, by the constant noise torture and fear of getting thrown up on).  I'm making jokes now, but it's one of the most unfunny things I can think of.  And I remember going through the exact same thing with Rebecca, only she did end up throwing up almost every day because of it.  Geez, I can't remember how long this phase lasts, must have blocked it out of my memory. 

Anyway, while I was lying on the couch battling the stomach flu this weekend (sorry, this is what, my fourth comment about puke?), I called my parents and mentioned this annoying (to put it mildly) new habit of Jessie's.  My mom immediately said, "If it were me, I'd just stuff a piece of candy into her fist really fast."  Hmmm...  (Wait, does that mean she did that to me?   Nah, I was never such a troublesome baby.)  I just laughed, and kind of brushed the comment aside.

That is, of course, until the next day, when Jess woke up from her nap, and was *this* close to going ballistic.  It had been a nice day.  Rebecca was playing happily on the computer.  My husband was trying to work in the next room.  Jess' nap had been long, she'd woken up on her own.  It was 3 pm-ish, perfect time for a snack, wouldn't ruin any meals.  And she wasn't full-on crying... yet.  I ran (ran, I tell you!) to the kitchen, grabbed a teeny Dum Dum from the Halloween stash bucket, unwrapping as I ran back to her, and stuffed it into that grubby little palm.



Holy smokes, Mom, it worked!



But you know what?  As soon as she realized she was just sucking on mushy paper, and the lollipop was a sticky blue memory, it was over.  The magic was gone and the banshee was back.  Much as I wanted to, I couldn't just keep sticking Dum Dum after Dum Dum into her (could I have?  No, I'd have probably had to pay for that later, too, anyway).  Any other ideas out there?  I'm desperate.  I'll try anything.  We've done television, gone outside, upstairs, hugged her, held her, ignored her.  Komaneko worked for a long time, especially #3, but no longer.  If this lasts much longer, I will. go. insane.  Sure, she looks cute now, but it's all so fragile.  Anyone ever seen the Twilight Zone episode, "It's a Good Life," or read the short story?  I sure know where that idea came from.

carnation pink

I think Elmo must have worn her out.



Poor little thing, couldn't even make it onto the couch.



And was it terrible of me to giggle, grab my camera, and then just let her sleep like that for 23 minutes?  I did cover her with a quilt, that makes it a little better, doesn't it? 

midnight blue

I searched and searched, trying to find something to take a picture of for the color of the week, when really, it was there in front of me all along.



Rebecca has outgrown her bathrobe, and requested another one.  I'm making the one shown on the cover of the book, in pink 100% cotton.  I've already finished the back, left and right fronts, and am almost done with the first sleeve.  She should be wearing it by bathtime next weekend, if all goes well, but I dread the finishing part.  I usually look for patterns that have minimal seam sewing, or that I can modify and knit in the round, because I loathe that final task.  Still, I figure I'd better practice, since it's really a major hangup of mine, and an obstacle I need to overcome.

Becca likes it so far and will pet the finished pieces now and then.  Yesterday I was sitting at the computer while the kids were eating breakfast, and she looked over, did a double take and asked, "Shouldn't you be knitting something?"

Sure, Miss Bossy.  Let me get right on that.

what i've bean up to

Oh, man, you don't know how many puns I came up with for that title.  Had to just stop myself and leave it.  Don't worry, they were all equally bad, if not worse.

So without further delay, here's what the beans were for.

Warning: The post ahead contains several gratuitous kiddo shots.  Anyone not related to said kiddos may wish to look away or scroll down for the text only.  Okay, resume post.

She doesn't have a name yet, but Becca insists she's definitely a girl.  My husband and I have the worst, draftiest bedroom in the house, and one night I swore I could see the curtains move as the wind blew outside.  So, adapting an old pattern I'd printed off the internet years ago (sorry, the link is gone), I crocheted and crocheted and crocheted some more, in a spiral, not joining my rounds, until I pretty much just ran out of yarn.

It's quite long, well over a yard, and used up a large skein of anonymous acrylic I had in my stash, plus a tiny bit of scrap yarn for the collar, nose, tail and ears.  The head and tail are stuffed with polyester stuffing, and she ate up over 4 pounds of white beans.

The girls just giggle whenever they see her.  Lucky for her, she's heavy, or I think she'd end up in bed with one of them.

Ah, I feel like my room is warmer already.  Thanks, puppy!

i want to remember

Today was not an exceptional day.  We didn't get to sleep in, tantrums were thrown, and tears were shed.  We only set foot outside in the afternoon for an hour-long excursion to 99 Ranch Market.  But there was something about today that makes me want to freeze it, wrap it up and tuck it away, keep it under my pillow. 

Both girls at lunchtime, enjoying their food.



Jessie, feet up on the table, munching on a pork rib bone.  Grease all over, could not be any happier.  Becca, spaghetti sauce on her cheeks, her nose, her pants, her sweater, her chair, the floor all around her.  Also happy as can be.   

Both girls, asleep on the couches in the living room.  For five minutes, granted, but oh, the loveliness of those five minutes.

Then Jessie awake, waiting impatiently for me to crack and feed her sunflower seeds, insistently stuffing a fistful of already-cracked, empty shells in my mouth.   Her offering me both cheeks, one at a time, to kiss.  Scooching into my lap, backwards, as always.  I think hard, trying to find a memory like this with Rebecca, but I can't.  Becca has never been the cuddly, snuggly type.  She's very affectionate, tactile and loving, but more of a smash-into-you and bite-your-shoulder fierce kind of love, squirmy and rough.  Still, there must have been times like this, there must have been.

Out in the cold, trip to the market.  The closest parking space possible, can't believe our luck.  Samples, everywhere we turn.  Korean pears, fish balls, tofu, fried onion pancakes, sweet rice.  A buffet for the girls, how can they possibly want dinner after all that?  Home, unloading the car, preparing hot pot with my husband, together.  Choreographed, no one getting in anyone else's way, ready to eat in no time flat.



Towards the end of the meal, the girls laughing, screeching together, breaking open a bag of beans all over the living room floor.   Silliness.  Picking it all up, together, the three of us, Daddy taking pictures. 

What a day.  Of normalcy.  Of everyday.  Of kid-ness.  I see so much of myself in Rebecca, not all of it good, but it wouldn't surprise me to know that she felt the same as I did about today.  Something special, even though it was so plain and ordinary.  She was in bed by 9:30, but didn't let herself fall asleep until well after 11.  I'll show you tomorrow what the beans were for.  But please, please don't let me forget about today.  I always want to remember today.

tumbleweed

It's 50 degrees right now, at 10:30 in the morning.  Four days ago, it was 84.  What the...?



Oh, whatever, it's the perfect day for vegetable soup.  Becca's going to cut up all the mushrooms, pour in the soup stock and add the ingredients.  Can't wait, my mouth is watering.

starting on the right foot

Wow, that was a bit of a blogging slump, wasn't it?  Well, hopefully I've pulled myself out of it now, and can resume as usual.  I guess with all the holiday crafting, working with deadlines, under pressure, having to finish just for the sake of finishing, after all that was over, I didn't know what to do with myself.  While I was bawling over a Law & Order episode (did you see the one with Brian Dennehey?), I realized this was the third thing I'd watched (the other two were Netflix DVDs The Devil Wears Prada and The Family Stone) without having anything in my hands.  Let me repeat that.  I didn't have any crochet, knitting, sewing needle, or anything with me, I was just watching the TV.  I didn't even pick anything up during the commercials!  I seriously don't remember the last time I did that.  And while it was kind of nice, in a way, it was also more than just a little disconcerting.  I thought I'd have projects lined up, ready to tackle.  I certainly remember thinking to myself weeks ago that it would be nice once the holidays were over and I could just make things willy-nilly, for no reason but that a pattern caught my eye, or that I wanted to try something out on a whim.  But instead, what I think happened, is that without direction, I had too many choices, couldn't settle on anything, and was at a loss.  But, luckily, I was rescued by a couple of very fitting New Year's bottlecap fortunes.



So I finished turning this Christmas Magic Yarn ball



into this baby sweater (pattern can be found here).



Becca and Jessie had a blast following the yarn ball around, watching all the goodies drop out of it.  Some holiday socks, a deck of snowman playing cards, lollipops (yup, gone), a pair of gloves, some ornaments.  There was a really cute bar of soap that now has some really deep teeth marks in the corner...

Anyway, hopefully I'm back into the swing of things again, and you'll still be here for me to share it all with you.  My crafting goal this year is to purchase only what I need to finish up projects, and nothing new for as long as I can.  Will I be able to last a whole year?  Probably not.  But I'll do my best, and we'll see how long I can hold out.  Anyone else with me?