Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Take a Walk with Us!

Butters' illness before Cmas meant we couldn't leave the house. So, when DH got home early on Wednesday, I hit the road for a last minute gift and some road rage. I was home in time (the sun goes down around 4:30) to take a walk with E who had been couped up and needed some attention, too! Take a walk with us!
Blurry, but look at that smile! "Follow me!" She said. Then she ran off, "Can'tcatchme."
Demonstrating the grouchy face. M&Ms got her going again, then she said she was, "Just kidding!" You have to stay one step ahead of her. Notice the socks on her hands.

Examining rocks, her favorite.


Put the rocks in your pocket. Mom, don't forget to get them out before the washing machine!

"Pick me up?" She walked about a mile round trip.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Old Bum

We met up with Santa at our favorite toy store, Rowdy Rascals in Snohomish! Much better than waiting in line at the mall! My grandpa used to call him, "The Old Bum," and we'd get so upset, "No Grandpa, he's not a bum!"


Look at those trusting faces! What do you expect, 364 days out the year we tell them to stay away from strangers, then we think they'll sit on a strange man's lap and not be afraid? I had in my mind the perfect picture, the kids in slightly matchy outfits, dark jeans for Princess E and a three button red sweater, both sitting smiling on Santa's lap. E insisted on these turquoise pants and a pink shirt and then she was very unsure of this imposing bearded man. I ended up in the photo and none of us match and it's not the perfect photo but it was still a perfect day!

We went to Olympia for the holidays and now it's time to detox and play with all our toys. Butters was sick during the holiday but he's back to his old self-pestering his sister and demanding sugary treats, oh and telling jokes and giving kisses! Look how mellow he is.
For Santa, we don't put a huge emphasis on him bringing all the gifts. We had our own Cmas morning the weekend before, then family meals and gift opening Cmas eve down in Oly, then Cmas morning, Santa leaves a little something in the stockings. I never know where we'll be, so the stockings are portable and small! I had fruit candies, water color paint and a small gift and a ball for each. I ask Butters what Santa brings and he said, "Candy canes or something?" So, I had DH pick up candy canes, too! Here's why there are more pictures of E on the blog them Butters, he doesn't like having his picture taken anymore (I wonder why?). This was Cmas morning.
Last month, we asked Butters what he wanted for Cmas, Darth Vader's Tie Fighter or Boba Fett's ship. He wanted Boba's ship. DH found and bought it on eBay. We opened presents, then saw Santa at the toy store. He asked Santa for the Tie Fighter. On the drive home, we asked him why, "Because I already had Boba Fett's ship!" Next time, Santa before the presents!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Twenty-nine! I can't believe it.


And, neither should you! I'm 34 today, but decided to throw a last minute party and pretend to be 29 again. I don't know how kids know it's your birthday, but at the stroke of midnight last night, Butters came to my room to deliver the news, "Mom, I was coughing and then I spit up all over the place." Well, it all went down hill fast: 3 pajama changes, 2 bed sheets, a constant battle for attention (one needs me and the other wants me) and 6 loads of laundry later and now here I am. Twenty-nine again.

About three in the morning last night, I was awake listening to the sound of snoring, a tummy grumbling and the rain falling. I remembered a time I had asked for my birthday to not have to change any diapers. That was the Target Parking Lot Incident of 2007 and I won't replay to you what happened, all I'll say is, that kids know when it's your birthday or mother's day or any other special day and that's when they test you the most!


Instead, I will remember the day before my birthday-a gathering with friends and window shopping in Snohomish-decked out in antiques for the holidays. I had temporarily lifted my "No Christmas References During My Birthday" Rule to allow my wonderful husband to serve cupcakes on a snowman plate and we had a great morning pretending it was early family Festivus opening all our gifts. And next year, I'll celebrate my half birthday during the summer solstice and really have some fun. Birthdays are still fun and cause for celebration, just not mine, today. :)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Snow Walk




"Let's take a walk, it's snowing out." We got bundled up and the snow ended! But, the ponds were frozen and we let the kids ice skate on some small frozen puddles. Everyone but the dog enjoyed it, dogs don't enjoy skidding. I was happy to keep the family warm in their hand knits, but I need to get started on family mittens.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I knitted her an adorable purple bog sweater and she refused to wear it. The lace February Baby sweater only fit her for 2 weeks. Lately, every time I'm knitting, she says, "For me? Hat for me?" So I gave in and made her a quick obnoxious pink hat.
She wears it all the time!!!! I also made one for Tiny Baby, her constant companion.
You can see some some sacrificed yarn in the background, around the door knob, it was a small price to pay to the toy goddesses for me to get some online shopping done! Plus, it's acrylic!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Butters Photo Shoot 5

This is Tiny Baby, Princess E's current favorite doll.
An X wing fighter and the space shuttle. Specifically arranged.


My messy mantle. I'm almost too embarrassed to post this. It's since been cleaned. I asked what he took a photo of, he said, "My leapfrog game." It's the green thing!


Catch Up!

Picture from the dreaded Chuck E Cheese birthday party. A 10 am party after I stayed out late to go see New Moon. This guy sits and eats every bite of cake!
She is up for anything. Seriously! She smiles so easily and is all about fun. Except when she on the floor screaming because she doesn't approve of the shoe choice!

She's also very expressive!


Unintended blog vacation, I'll catch you up on a few things. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the in-laws including a one night stay at a Shelton Casino with just DH and myself. We Festivus shopped for the kids (together! alone!), shopped the downtown stores in Olympia and had a blast on the slot machines. We were (okay I was) drunk by 6 pm! We didn't make it past midnight, but getting up at 5 am will do that to you.
It's cold here, in the teens at night and not above freezing during the day. The dog doesn't even like to go out. Last week, while the sun was out and it was warmer we made it to the zoo, but I didn't remember my camera. I only had the backpack, no stroller. Princess E ended up on my shoulders. It was fun, the kids were great. We rode the carousel, met up with friends, stopped at the park after. I was exhausted. DH asked the kids if they had fun, and Butters said, "No." I nearly died! What's the point, what am I doing all this for? I could just turn the TV on all day!
Getting ready for the next holiday and feeling the Christmas Craft Crunch. Time to decide what I have time for and what's too optimistic.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Did You See Me?





I was the knitter on the plane who brought three different knitting projects for a 1.5 hour flight, an MP3 player and no diaper bag! I could to the bathroom-BY MYSELF-and therefore stayed well hydrated. (Have you ever taken 2 small children into an airplane bathroom with you? It should be a Mom Olympics category!) I ate at child unfriendly restaurants-Tartine and Bittersweet. I went to Kabuki spa to relax and let go. I shopped at ImagiKnit, calmly. I had a rocking time visiting some amazing women (and one new amazing little boy) in San Francisco and Oakland. As you can tell, I went by myself!
I missed the kids and my husband, or at least I'm supposed to say that. DH took the kids down to his parents, therefore, it took 3 people to replace me (Just kidding, Dear :). The best part was not just the hot food and lack of responsibility but being my old self again, laughing and telling stories with some women whose lives I really needed to catch up on. It can be too easy sometimes for your world to shrink. Being back in my old life helped me expand a bit and breath again.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Painting and Coloring






This is what happens when your daughter watches you paint your nails! BTW, if you ever paint your nails black for Halloween, make sure you have polish remover first! I had black chipped nails for 2 weeks.



This is a photo of a picture Butters made which I am immensely proud of! He has not been interested in holding a pencil or really trying to color, but recently something clicked and now he's passed from scribbling to trying to make a picture that looks like something. Here is our family, you'll notice I have curly hair, daddy has black hair, the pets are there but the Princess is missing! The tall skinny things are trees, I love those!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Snow White and Grumpy

This little blog is a small slice of our lives, I don't tell you everything and I certainly candy coat things. We have good weeks and bad weeks. Days when we learn letters, make play dough, eat homemade muffins and days when we watch some TV and I'm looking out the window waiting for DH to get home! What is obvious is that if I'm in a bad mood, my kids pick up on and will be grumpy too. It can be hard to be Snow White all the time, so let's just say there is a reason I'm not a preschool teacher! The other day, I was stressing getting out the door (I know just say, we are going to be late and get on with it), the Princess looked up at me and asked, "Mama, happy?" It stopped me in my tracks. "Yes, Mama's happy. Are you happy?" "Yeah," she said, "E happy." So, lets all try to be.

Right now we've got a clear skies, a woodpecker at our bird feeder and a nice sunrise. Yesterday we took a long nature walk, any moments of dryness are cherished. Butters and I were looking through a Martha craft magazine that P. Mookie gave us to do something during E's nap time. He found Nature Jars which are just cleaned out empty glass jars. Well, he got excited about having a collection! He hadn't wanted to leave on the nature walk earlier that day, then all of a sudden he's putting his boots on, picking out a jar, and rushing outside. We started with a rock, included leaves, grass, a pine cone, a clover. He walked outside and said, "Our plum tree is different, all the leaves are gone, but the Evergreen tree in our neighbor's yard still has it's needles."

Now, this is a kid who just 4 hours ago did not want to go outside, didn't want to take a walk, is tired of hiking the dog words because, "they are boy-ring." (boring). I've tried a compass, camera, I Spy and what finally worked was an empty pickle jar! You never know, but it's good to keep trying. It may not hold his interest tomorrow, but it worked for today. It was hard on Snow White, the vegetarian nature lover, when her son didn't want to go outside, then suddenly it will all pay off!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Pumpkins!








Can't get out of the season without posting our pumpkin patch photos and carving night!

I've been busy answering thousands of questions. I can handle about 100 a day, after that, I get a bit edgy! I know it's how kids learn things, but sometimes, I just don't know the answer. We get creative, we'll look things up on the Internet or try experiments and sometimes I give the answer I told myself I would never say when I was a mom, "I'll tell you later."

Here's a sample of questions: Why do they call it soap? Why is cheese melted on pizza? Why is his name Devon? Why did you say, Ouch? Why is it her birthday? Why is Halloween over? What is Under God? Or, just plain old: Why?
The Princess has been learning words and colors, adding new words everyday. Her first color to recognize was blue. She rambles on in long sentences, "Mama, dadda, Tarter, Me, ohh, hi Levi, do." She is unafraid of everything: swimming, pumpkin guts, wet leaves and danger! I've got to keep my eye on her at all times.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Gorilla Arms

This is E's bog jacket, the sleeves were knit back and forth. I added stitches for the arms and thought, maybe a few more, okay she has long arms, a few more....I ended up with gorilla arms. Here is how I solved the problem in time for her to still fit in it.
Sew fabric, right side to right side of sweater, make several rounds of stitches, this will secure your knit stitches. (This was a tight squeeze! )
Take a deep breath and cut! I wanted to remove three inches, so my seam is 2.5 inches in to allow seam.



Fold over and sew around, it won't look pretty but it will keep the sweater from unraveling.



Ta da! She still won't wear it!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Boo




We had a great time trick or treating! E got the hang of it after one house, her costume was a 2 year old who refused to wear a costume. She wore it the next day, however! Bat wings I cut from fleece, they fit her perfectly.
Butters had a blast, "Just one more house!" People knew he was Obi Wan, however, he refused to be photographed, so this is all I got of my handmade jedi robe and tunic. That morning he said he wanted to be Luke Skywalker instead. He had a halloween party at school, a family halloween party and trick or treating and now we are done! I don't have great pictures of everything, but we have the memories!


Monday, November 2, 2009


Appie Pie/Pumpkin Spice Playdough
1c flour
1/2 c salt
1 c water
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp cream of tartar
cinnamon/pie spice
Mix it all together in a pan over medium heat until it forms a ball. Remove and knead, can be reheated for about 20 seconds in the microwave for continued fun. Smells great!
This picture isn't blurry because of finger prints, we were using the fog bubble blower and having a spooky morning! I put our drawing table in the middle of the room and we used kitchen tools to mix up the fun.
Halloween post to come!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Pumpkin Play Dough












I've given up trying to lay things out in blogger, it never looks like it does on screen, for now, I'll just dump in pictures and put text below, although I'm not certain it will end up there!
You may wonder how I have time to knit, here is my secret: some activities require constant supervision but not necessarily participation! I made 'pumpkin spice play dough,' and the kids were busy for at least an hour. I got a few rows done in between cleaning up the floor. This was the Friday before the sickness hit and we have since re-heated this and played with it many more times and I finished this blue hat I was working on. If you ask, I'll post the dough recipe. It's quick and easy. E really concentrates and works at it longer than Butters.

We've really been enjoying the season, jumping in leaves and getting outside when we can, baking and just enjoying time together. I've been trying to say yes more often than no and every one's attitude is a little brighter lately.
The wood art is made by DH, he's a crafty guy, too! We have a special anniversary coming up, a year since the end of all the treatments, so officially a year of being cancer free! He's got a doctors check up, and then we'll celebrate somehow.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

More on the 2nd Birthday




Here is our little Princess, and just like Butters before her, a switch flipped the day she turned 2 and now she lays on the floor and cries to get her way.

I'm not sure why she thinks this works, I don't give in (all the time)! We had a tea party with her friends and her brothers friends and family. I have few photos that are clear, it appears Butters touched my lens on the last photo shoot, they all the pics are a bit fuzzy! But, we had a nice spread and eveything went well. My mom said this was the best party I had planned yet, which is funny because I put less planning into this party than any yet!

Currently, we are home sick with fevers, we've made play dough, watched movies, painted dinosaurs and I've done a lot of laundry. I'm ready to get out of this house, but they are not! So far, I haven't gotten sick...yet.