There'll Be Days Like This

Jeremy's week off by the numbers

2010-07-11T17:52:00.005-04:00

8 number of days Jeremy was home with us

2 children's science museums visited

1 staple* inserted in Dorian's head to hold it together after a playground mishap

1.5 hours spent in emergency room to get said staple

1 cavern explored

52 degrees F inside the cavern

100 degrees F outside

1 night in a hotel

8 times we went swimming

1 pair of socks for Jeremy finally finished

2 average number of cucumbers picked from the garden each day

4 days, starting today, that Jeremy will be in Chicago on business-- feast or famine, I guess.

* Can you believe it's actually a metal staple with no discernible difference from the kind that holds papers together?! It makes me shudder every time I see it.

2010-06-14T09:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was yet another dreary, cool and rainy day in a string of such days. And so it seemed a perfect day to destroy my clean and pretty new dining room by filling it with all the crap from the laundry room and painting. My bogus trip to IKEA has left me with no organizational unit to fill the newly painted laundry room, but that is neither here nor there.
Gone are the weirdly mustardy beige walls and ancient linoleum floor, replaced by three white walls and one pink wall and a floor that I can't decide if it is shabby chic or just plain shabby. Which ever it may be, it is better than the crumbling, blue, water-damaged linoleum that was there before. And this means that I finally get to use my washing machine and dryer instead of the old ones that came with the house! (Well, after I have Jeremy help me move them from the workshop...)

Now I get to drag Dorian around with me today on a quest to find some appropriate storage furniture and a work table.

**************************

And in totally unrelated news-- I had this conversation with Dorian a couple of days ago:

Dorian: Mom, you're the greatest woman in town!

Me: You think?!

Dorian: Well... maybe Miley Cyrus is.

The fact that Miley does not live anywhere near our town, probably has never heard of our town and quite possibly will never visit our town did not matter to dear DeeDee. So, currently, I have a 4.5 year old obsessed with Miley Cyrus and a 7.5 year old who is in love with a video game character. Lord have mercy on me this summer vacation!

Laziest blogger/knitter ever

2010-05-24T14:48:00.002-04:00

Considering it has been almost a month since I posted, you probably weren't expecting to ever find another post here. But here I am, with very little to show you. The camera gets almost no use these days. We're busy, but not with much you'd want to look at.

I've been hardly knitting at all. I am not working on Sundays this May, so there goes a whole day of knitting time. And I missed last week's circle and will also miss this week's. Couple that with watching a lot of movies that require reading, and the knitting has slowed considerably. The other day I remembered that I had been working on Jeremy's first sock while watching the absolute worst movie during February vacation. And here we are, fast approaching summer vacation, and I've only just finished the heel on number 2.

On the right is a sweater vest requested by Sebastian to have an alien theme. So far, you can see UFOs and planets. There are also alien faces and rocket ships to come. Assuming I ever pick up the needles again...

Mayday

2010-04-29T09:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I got to do my nature program for Sebastian's class for a whopping hour and a half whch was supposed to include a walking field trip down the road to a large brook. Unfortunately, it was a rainy, cold, miserable day so we were only able to go behind the school to a smaller stream. This meant I had a lot more time to fill, as about 45 minutes was scheduled just for walking.

So after I did my puppet show which featured a mayfly nymph among other things (like a coat hanger and a toilet plunger), I told the children about mayflies. How when they emerge as adults, they only have one day to live, so they mate and lay eggs and that's it. "What would you do if you could only be an adult for one day before you died?" I asked.

And as depressing as it was that all the girls save one* wanted to go to the mall, and all the boys wanted to play video games, one little sociopath came up with a real doozy. He, too, wanted to play video games but in order to do so he planned to:

"Go to the store and buy all the video games I want with a check I know I don't have money for, but the won't know that until after I'm dead anyway."

I'm not sure I want to know what is going on in his life that inspired that comment.

*She wanted to clean her house, which made her mother who was accompanying us hang her head in dismay. But at least she was being thoughtful of those she was leaving behind.

Mental Health Day

2010-04-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

Jeremy's boss decided he needed a mental health day on Friday, but it really turned out to be one for me. And not just because I had had 2 kids home for spring vacation* for 6 days at that point either.

No, I took the opportunity to strong-arm Jeremy into helping me paint the dining room-- an event I've been waiting for for too long. (Note that this post was written one year ago exactly.)

We picked white for the dining room, since all the other rooms have color, and my dishes are all different colors and I didn't want too much clashing. And my cousin pointed out that I don't want to have a "clown house." Unfortunately, all I could say when it was done was, "It's so... white." So we hung up our artwork, and it is better. Now we just need an appropriately sized table.

And lest it seem finished, I have this little reminder until I make it to the hardware store to buy one of those silly plates to cover the chimney flue:
Now I just need to do the laundry room... I've got the paint-- I just need the time.

*During vacation, we went to an artist's workshop and Sebastian's picture was taken for the paper.

The whole tooth and nothing but the tooth

2010-04-11T13:03:00.003-04:00

Sebastian lost his 6th tooth on Friday. He still hadn't left the 5th one he lost months ago for the tooth fairy yet, deciding instead to keep one for himself. Now he had 2 teeth in two of the little tooth necklaces that come from school when your mouth starts falling apart there.

And for the first time, he questioned the magic. "Maybe the tooth fairy doesn't really exist." When pressed, he wasn't sure where the money might come from or where the teeth might go. Santa Claus made more sense than tooth fairies and Easter bunnies, he decided. (Even though he claimed to have caught a glimpse of said bunny last Sunday.) So I told him about what happened when I was his age and thought the same thing.

I decided to wait up for the fairy. My tooth was in a film canister under my pillow, under my head, and there was no way she (or whoever was masquerading as the tooth fairy) was going to get past me. I struggled to stay vigilant, and in the dark I checked to be sure I could hear the rattle of my little tooth in the plastic. But it was full of coins! And so I was convinced, for a little while longer anyway. Sebastian pointed out that I may have dozed off briefly, but seemed to reconsider.

He didn't want to (or forgot) to leave his teeth for the fairy on Friday night, but remembered to do it last night. After discovering the dollar he received last time still folded neatly inside his tooth pouch, he took his little calcified treasures upstairs to rest on the pillow next to his head.

Cue anxious whispering by his parents:

"Do you have $2?"

"No! Do you?"

"I think I have $1 in my wallet. What should we do?"

"We'll just have to 'borrow' some from their wallets, I guess."

But then we went back to playing Mario and totally forgot.

This morning, more anxious whispering by me at 7:45am to my sleeping husband:

"Did you remember to be the tooth fairy?!"

Shit. Now what? The kids are up. Sebastian has by now discovered that the tooth fairy has neglected to visit. All wallets are downstairs with the children. Panic! Panic!

Piggy banks! Those are upstairs. Who says the tooth fairy only brings bills? She certainly didn't when I was a kid.

Whose stupid idea was it anyway to have the kids take their change to the CoinStar machine?! (Mine.) The total from the 2 banks was a whopping $1.76. There was another 15 cents on our dresser. Jeremy told me to check his underwear drawer, but that only yielded his neckties, an "I heart Styx" button and some marbles. (It's better not to ask.)

Now I had to sneak downstairs to get his wallet with the lonely bill, quietly put the excess change back in the banks, exchange the money for teeth and somehow not get caught. Success!

Being the impatient person I am, when I returned downstairs some 45 minutes later I asked if the tooth fairy had come. "She didn't," Sebastian sadly replied. "She forgot."

"That's not possible. I have heard of her having trouble in bad weather, but not forgetting entirely. Are you sure she didn't come?"

"Yes. I checked when I woke up and my teeth were still there and there was no money."

"Hmm. That's odd. I wonder if she came and saw there were 2 teeth and had to go back for more money. She probably was only expecting one tooth. I'm sure she'll come."

"That's a good idea, Mom. I did hold onto that other tooth for a long time."

Lo and behold, when he checked a few minutes later, the money was there... but short one dime. Argh! Will this nightmare never end? I told him to check his bed and retrace his steps from his room to where the tooth pouch was now on the dining table, scrambled into the kitchen to get a dime from my wallet to throw on the floor next to the table and vowed not to worry about it when Jeremy wondered how I would explain it when Sebastian finds the original dime later.

Seen and heard

2010-04-06T13:18:00.003-04:00

Seen:

While driving to school this morning, I was behind a station wagon with a "Baby on Board" sign affixed to the back window. As it was turning into the school parking lot, its driver threw a cigarette butt out of the window.

Apparently I am expected to have more of a stake in that baby's safety than the parent is.

Heard:

Dorian was very excited by the prospect of finding Easter eggs filled with "malted meatballs."

March Miss Lady Sweater Done!

2010-03-31T09:33:00.003-04:00

It looks boxier lying on the floor than it does on me. (I hope.)

I may decide to change the "sleeves" a little, but otherwise it is fine. And with Ben's help, I found the perfect buttons. Not the ones I had in mind originally, but I'm happy with them.

Who's busy?

2010-03-25T13:47:00.002-04:00

It has been a whirlwind month around here. Jeremy took that second business trip of the year-- I survived. He was a little worse for wear, having lost not only the 3 hours from flying back from the west coast, but also the hour for springing forward.

Sebastian continues to maintain his perfect attendance record, despite going into school at 9:30 last Monday and then calling home sick at 1:30. Of course his teacher thought I was pushing him to get perfect attendance and neglectfully sending him into school sick, but it is all him. He wants that Friendly's gift card at the end of the year. And he didn't have a fever when I dropped him off. I can't control what happens when he's not with me. (I can barely control what happens when he is.)

Thursday we went to Boston to visit Jim, who was an awesome host as usual. I highly recommend his chicken cutlets. Yum! I got some cutie stuff for myself and for the kids for Easter and for someone else over in Berkeley who should look for a package at some point. (But not too soon-- it isn't in the mail yet.)

We got home Saturday night, Sunday I worked, and Monday my cousin Emily and her beau Michael came to visit until Wednesday. It was a nice visit, if rainy, and now I'm trying to get my life back in order.

So far today I have raked out all the flower beds and admired all the buds emerging from the ground, swept the sidewalk, and left all the leaves in piles around the yard waiting to be stuffed into those giant brown bags. (Cross your fingers that they don't blow around too much before I can finish the job after I pick up Sebastian from school.)

And I hope to finish my March Miss Lady sweater which is only a couple of rows from being finished in the body and a couple of rows each for the cap sleeves. I can't wait to be done with that. Then I've been asked to knit a gecko for the store, but when it is done, I think I'll take a little break from knitting. I am really lacking for inspiration and maybe a few weeks off is what I need to get back in the swing of things.

Fit to be tied

2010-03-09T19:04:00.004-05:00

Sebastian and I have been in a bit of a power struggle the last couple of years over when he would learn to tie his shoes. He was clearly winning, as I was continually convinced to buy slip-ons and velcro models, and every time I tried to teach him how to tie a bow, he would respond with limp fingers and I with yelling.

For the last few months, he has been wedging his thick wool socks into a pair of shoes a full size too small for him, despite owning a pair of low top Chucks in a more appropriate size. But I couldn't very well send him off to school with shoes he couldn't put on himself when the boots came off, so off he went day after day looking more and more like the ragamuffin he is.

Well, along came February break, and when I removed his shoes from his backpack and discovered that the elastic had completely ripped free from its moorings on both sides of both shoes, I made a bold move to win the battle. I threw the pair, along with its dry-rotting velcroed brethren, into the garbage and announced that he would be learning to tie his shoes before he went back to school because he had no other choice. End of the line.

The first few days of vacation passed with multiple refusals to learn and statements of intent to procrastinate. Finally, two days before his return to school, I told him the time had come. He tried. He failed. He tried again. Better, but not right. He tried again. And he did it! High fives all around... Lots of cause for celebration...

The next day we were out shopping, and he was very excited about his future of shoes of all sorts, and pointed out several styles he would love to have. I told him that when he outgrew this pair, I would take him shopping, but that most likely his shoes would not be coming from the large chain store where we were.

The next 3 days of school go by, followed by a weekend of wearing his shoes with no problems whatsoever. They fit. They are tied competently by Sebastian. All is right with the world.

Today I go to pick him up from school and am confronted by the information that my child was shoeless during library and told the librarian an elaborate story about how when his father came home from his business trip that he would be taking him to Target to buy new shoes because the ones he has don't fit. Umm... no, no and no.

And he apparently wandered the halls shoeless all day yesterday as well. One would think that his teacher would have told me about this. But one would be very wrong.

I suppose I should be thankful it wasn't his pants he was neglecting to wear.

The New Normal

2010-03-08T08:42:00.002-05:00

My friend Amanda and I have been talking about when we should stop waiting for things to "get back to normal" and just accept that we have an ever shifting, very busy, new normal. For example, things are "back to normal" this week because Jeremy just took both of the boys to school for the first time in 3 weeks. But, he leaves at 3:30am tomorrow for a business trip from which he will return Sunday just in time for me to go to work. Not normal, but approaching being the New Normal since this is the second trip in as many months.

But, as I'm sure you suspected, some things are as normal as ever around here. Like the knitting... Let me introduce you to my latest, slightly abusive, and generally unhealthy relationship:

My February Lady Sweater. Henceforth to be known as the "March Miss Lady Sweater". This pattern is extremely irritating. I'm sort of irritated that I'm even making it considering that every other female knitter on the planet seems to have also made one. But we all know that I hate to follow a pattern, so of course, mine will have short sleeves and 8 small buttons instead of 3 large ones. There was some serious frogging with this little lady. For some dumb reason, the lace part starts before you divide for the sleeves, so that when I would make it short sleeved, it would end up with one little strip of the lace. It looked stupid. So I ripped it back to where the lace started, did some more garter stitch instead, and voila! it is much improved. I also made the button band narrower since my buttons will not be so large.

You might ask why I would continue with something that caused me to use the "f" word way more than normal. And the answer would be that I really want a lacy, short sleeved sweater to wear over my sundresses in spring and summer if I get a little cool. And I looked for a different pattern and just didn't have much luck. So I'm sticking with this one. And as long as I don't eff up the lace pattern again, the rest should be smooth sailing.

In the meantime, when I've needed some stockinette to soothe my frayed nerves, I've been working on some socks for Jeremy, who is the only one left in this house with no "mommy socks."

I thought this was self-striping yarn when I bought it, but it's more like self-spiraling. That's okay. It fits him like a glove. For his foot.

I know I don't go to a lot of parties...

2010-02-28T21:44:00.003-05:00

But I must say that the discovery of a fresh human shit on the floor is one way to really liven a birthday party up.

Hand washings all around!

Be careful what you wish for

2010-02-27T20:19:00.003-05:00

I have been heard to complain that Maryland has been getting all the snow that is rightfully Vermont's. We had the same icy inch of snow getting dirtier and dirtier for the last couple of months. And finally last week the snow came again.

And then this week, it snowed some more.

And I had been wishing for snow. Snow to sit and knit by. Snow to bake bread to. Snow to deposit the children in.

But I didn't ask for feet of snow immediately followed by inches of rain that meant I would be shovelling water. (Yes, I know snow is frozen water.) Shovelling slushy water is about ten times harder than shovelling powdery snow, even if it is less likely to blow back in your face when you fling it. And Sebastian's boots have spent a week stuck in the baseboard heater unsuccessfully trying to dry. You don't want to know how bad that smells. Swampfoot-- ugh!

Lousy winter. You done me wrong this year.

Yes, I'm still alive.

2010-02-22T15:31:00.004-05:00

I was just waiting for at least 10 people to complain that they hadn't read anything lately. I'm just vain like that, I guess.

Not really. I just haven't been in the mood. And I didn't feel like boring everyone with my minutiae for a while. But if you want it, here it is:

Crazy neighbor update: No nudity lately, but there is a pile of garbage as tall as the house behind ours that includes a big screen TV among other things, and is so voluminous that it is hard to imagine it all fitting in the tiny house (which is where I assume it came from). However, I have seen enough episodes of Hoarders to know that it is more than possible.

Also, I witnessed the boy who sucks on nails come out of his house barefoot, walk into the snow, scoop some up with his bare hands and go back inside with it. I will never figure those people out.

Dorian and Kindergarten update: Dorian will not be attending Kindergarten next year. The board declined to make an exception. This disappoints me on selfish levels, but is fine. He'll be fine regardless. Now we just have to decide if he'll continue at the same preschool, and if so, for how many days a week.

Work update: I'm still holding down the fort on Sundays which continues to be okay despite the fact that sometimes people show up at closing time with massive knitting disasters they expect me to fix. Like the woman who was making a blanket on circular needles, but blankets are flat (you know this, I know this, everyone but she knows this), and two inches in she started making it in the round and didn't understand why that was a problem. Time to put down the needles, ma'am.

Knitting update: I "finished" the red riding hood. You will notice it has no closure of any kind, which means it isn't really finished. I'm thinking of knitting some frogs with the abundance of left over yarn, but it probably also needs a zipper. In the meantime, I used a kilt pin to hold it together when I wore it as a jacket yesterday. It was quite warm.

And in honor of the Olympics, I made this rainbow cowl. Rarely do I buy yarn without a specific project in mind, but I just loved these colors. It is a fairly expensive yarn, so I only bought one ball which is only 95 yards. So I needed a small project. I wanted to keep the rainbow intact, so I knit this as a long rectangle (like half a scarf) and then grafted it together to make a tube. But the K3P1 rib that I made was a little too stiff, so I dropped all the purled stitches and now it is nice and drapey. I am pleased.

There you have it. Maybe I'll even update the kids' blog now...

My latest project

2010-02-04T09:00:00.003-05:00

The moment I have been anticipating/dreading all school year has finally come-- the time to start trying to get Dorian into Kindergarten next year. You may remember what I had to go through to get Sebastian accepted straight into 1st grade all because his birthday is in November and the cut-off is September 1. Well, now I get to do it all again since Dorian's birthday is 4 days after Sebastian's.

I've begun the process, talking to the principal, being told what the policy is, getting past the gatekeeper to an appointment for registration. So now all that's left is to get my supporting documentation from Dorian's preschool, write my letter of appeal, and hope for the best.

My biggest argument (other than the fact that Dorian is capable and ready) is that their policy is obviously not as cut and dried as they would like me to believe since they already bent it once for Sebastian with no ill effects.

We'll see how convincing I can be...

Don't try to play any version of "Go to the Head of the Class" from the 60s

2010-02-01T18:58:00.002-05:00

Not only did the one I got from the thrift store not have the booklet with the answers, it also didn't have enough questions-- but the questions it did have were too much.

Here is a sample card: (Remember that this game is for ages 8 and up)
JUNIOR: Give the Latin for the Zodiac sign "The Balance". Any 8 year old who knows this one has some hippy dippy parents or is so bored they read everything on the comics page, including the chess and bridge sections.
INTERMEDIATE: What large American city was once called Village of Shawmuu? You can just see the middle schoolers' faces when this topic came up in Social Studies. Or didn't. Did anyone learn this?
SENIOR: Name the first President of the Commonwealth of the Phillipines [sic]. Mama has less important things to know than this.

The only thing I can think is that since this was series 15, whoever was in charge was running out of things to ask about. Sort of like how the most recent editions of Trivial Pursuit have questions about who won the 3rd of the Women's Bowling Playoff pregames in 1983.

It was all worth it for a few hilarious answers from Dorian including:
Who said "Shoot if you must this old grey head, but spare my country's flag", she said? D: A goat.
What country launched the first satellite into orbit? D: Space.

My hands are sore

2010-01-29T14:04:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure that the 4 to 5 hours of knitting I did yesterday were entirely advisable, however I do have something to show for it.

I finished the body of my little red riding hood. Jeremy's boss gave me a ton of red yarn she decided she would never use, so I am using two strands at once to make this bulky, top-down jacket. I'm just expanding on the bulky shrug pattern that I made a while ago to add long sleeves and a hood.

And I finished my socks this morning. All that was left last night was the toe of the second sock, but the pain in my wrist at 10pm told me it was better to stop and pick it up again in the morning. I'm glad I listened to myself for a change.

And, look! They match almost exactly!

Finally, check out this scrumptious little stack:

All it needs is an ice cream cone underneath. This pile will eventually become a color work beret sample for the store. If I don't eat it first.

The bus decision has been made (for the time being anyway)

2010-01-28T09:11:00.003-05:00

Citing "too much commotion", Sebastian has decided he'd like to take a break from the bus for a while.

The pros:

He gets home 40 minutes earlier and in a better mood.
I have learned not to swear out loud on the drive home (unlike most Kindergartners he knows).
Dorian doesn't usually punch him in the car. (He waits until we get home for that.)
There's less guesswork involved. (Will I get to the bus stop before the bus comes? Or will I wait there for 45 minutes before it finally arrives?)

The cons:

Less time to hang out with parents with whom I have nothing in common other than being the parent of a public school student.
No standing in the rain for half hour stretches every week.

I think I can live with this decision.

I'm ready for February

2010-01-27T08:47:00.004-05:00

I know an awful lot of people who were quite happy to shake the dust of last year and jump into this one. I, on the other hand, have not been too pleased with January, which will be going out on the same sour note it has been playing for weeks.

True, it hasn't been all bad. I did get my ring, after all. And my little brother came to visit. But people are getting me down with all their nonsense.

I really need to get my child development book out and find out whether it is just seven year-olds in general or mine specifically that are such a pain in the ass. Add to that not knowing what to do about him and the nightmare that is the school bus, and parenting does not top my list of fun activities.
Despite my reassurances to myself, this PTA stuff just really weighs on me. And even though part of me knows that 3 months isn't a very long time, it seems like an eternity until I can get out of this gig.
A certain person in our family has been unwell for quite a long time, and things are looking particularly grim these days. And because of the nature of the situation, it is a very draining experience.
Dorian's school has announced that they will be going sledding every Tuesday for the whole month of February, thereby messing up one of only 2 days a week that he goes, because of course they want drivers and chaperones for these little excursions.
And I get to end the month with Jeremy leaving on a business trip for 4 days to floody California. At least I'm not dealing with poopy 10 month-old twins alone like that brave soul Mr. Listmaker.

You know, I learned from my nature program puppet show that chipmunks are dormant through the winter, lying on a pile of seeds they collected, waking only to take a little nibble here and there and fall back asleep. Doesn't that sound grand?

Finally!

2010-01-21T08:59:00.001-05:00

I love it, Jeremy! Thank you!

2010-01-19T13:32:00.004-05:00

Uncle Jack came to visit this weekend, which was a pretty momentous occasion. For one reason or another, we only got to see Jack twice in the first 3 and a half years of Dorian's life. But now, we've gotten to see him twice in less than a year. Yay for that! You see, he hadn't gotten around to mailing the boys' Xmas present so he decided it would be easier to just deliver it himself. (And it probably was, since it was a giant slot car track which has taken over the dining room.)

We went sledding, had a visit with my aunt Marian and my cousin Chelsea and Chelsea's son Lincoln, and just enjoyed Jack's company for the little time we had with him. Sunday we went bowling before he was on his way South again and I was off to work. And if I hadn't accidentally taken his turn once, he would have beaten me.

I hope this is the beginning of a new trend of seeing him more often. I certainly wouldn't mind going back to Chincoteague this year...

The heels on the bus

2010-01-14T16:54:00.004-05:00

Sebastian: Mom, "A" was swearing on the bus. He got a write-up.

Me: Oh? What was he saying?

S: Well, I couldn't hear because he was at the front of the bus. I just heard the bus driver ask his name and tell him no swearing, he'd get a write-up.

M: Hmm.

S: I'm glad I couldn't hear because he might have said some swear words I don't know which would be bad because I might say them by accident later.

M: What swear words do you know?

S: Just a few. But I don't say them. That's why I'm civil.

The phone call

2010-01-11T08:54:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning I got one of those calls that puts you on edge, certain that there has been a death or some other tragedy. The phone call early in the morning*, serious voice at the other end of the line.

But then it was just my little brother asking if he could come visit this weekend! For which the answer could only be, "Of course!" I've got plans, lots of plans, to fit into a 36 hour period. Can't wait...

*Okay, so it was already after 9am and I was just pretending to be asleep so I could read in peace.

Still sportin' a mane

2010-01-06T09:35:00.003-05:00

Well, suffice to say I am still Treasurer of the PTA. After a 2 and a half hour meeting, I couldn't really find a way to bow out gracefully, so here I am: still with my big blue book. However, there is no more fundraising happening for the rest of the year and that is my biggest complaint, so I couldn't exactly play that particular card. Everything else we have planned is the community building stuff that I wanted us to focus on in the first place. And I really only have to make it to the beginning of May when the next elections are held, so I'm just going to tough it out.

*muffled sob*

As the heel turns

2010-01-05T10:47:00.002-05:00

I turned my heel yesterday and my gusset is all decreased*, so I'm about 1/3 of the way to a new pair of socks. I also finished my cowl, with which I am very pleased, but have no photo for you.

And if I can get over being the Cowardly Lion and follow through on my resolution number 3 for this year**, I may have some big news for you all soon.

*That's what she said.

** See previous post.

This year in review

2009-12-31T16:57:00.004-05:00

Here are last year's resolutions:

Painting the spare room, dining room and hallway
Well, I'm one for 3 on this. The "spare" room is now Dorian's room. And it is painted. But the dining room has only been prepped and the hallway is still a hideous pale yellow with diarrhea brown trim. So this is a bit of a fail. Oh, well. At least I'm motivated to get the dining room done first thing in the spring.

Building a fence
It was built. It works.

Growing a great garden and canning some of my own produce
I grew a fine garden. I did not can any of my own produce. Only produce from local farms. I also don't foresee being able to can any of my own produce for a few more years. The raspberries and blueberries are too small just yet, and I'm terrified of pressure canning, so we'll ignore this one.

Not allowing myself to get roped into anything I don't really want to do, especially where Sebastian's school is involved
We all know what a joke this one is. I have resolved to not take over the nature program next year, so I have made some progress on this front. Just not as much as I should have. Where were the reminders of this resolution when I agreed to be Treasurer for the PTA? I need some sort of alarm other than my conscience and the friends who always warn me--- okay, I need to just plain get a grip. Gripping.

and trying to find realistic, non-pharmaceutical solutions to my mental health issues.
This didn't really happen either. But I'm not locked up in the Retreat yet, so I must be doing something right.

I'm going to try not to look at this year as a failure. Plenty of things have been fine if not good. The kids are doing well in school. Owning a house hasn't bankrupted us. I fell into a job I really enjoy. So what if I have gained a little weight and been a little lazy on the painting front? There's always next year.

As for next year, I will try to:

get back in shape again.
get the dining room painted and the laundry room painted and the organization system installed. Forget the hallway for now.
continue doing things I enjoy and make my life better, and learn to stop doing the things that make me miserable and don't positively impact my life or anyone else's.

Wish me luck...

Color of the day

2009-12-30T09:54:00.003-05:00

Knitting has recently become somewhat compulsive for me-- partly because I wanted to finish a lot of Xmas knitting and partly now force of habit. I hardly read anything... It took a month to finish the last book I read and the magazines languish next to the couch sometimes for months before being touched. (This changed a little yesterday when Katrina showed up at my house with EZ's Knitter's Almanac which I almost finished before bed last night, so I guess the reading just needs to be about knitting, too.) Anyway, here's what's on the needles, or recently off of them:

My cousin sent me two skeins of wool that I decided to turn into arm warmers. Normally, I would knit these from the bottom up, but since I wanted to use the whole skein and not knit a thumb, I went from the top down, left a thumb hole, and knit until I ran out of wool, so they are a nice elbow length. However, I can't decide what I think of the colorway. It isn't really me. And it keeps making me think of Trix in chocolate milk. The jury's still out.

This is the cowl that I designed as a store pattern. It is a feather and fan stitch pattern that makes little scallops. Even though I designed the pattern, I am still not following it properly because I didn't want it to be as wide as the original one I made. So I left out one pattern repeat. I'm not sure why I'm making this since i didn't really enjoy making it last time, but the result is nice and it's an easy project to keep in my purse for emergency knitting.

And here are the socks I started yesterday. I love my brown mary janes, but all my socks are too brightly colored and clash, so I'm making this neutral stripe. Not very exciting, but functional.

And this little lovely is the unbearably soft alpaca yarn my mother gave me for Xmas as part of a shawl kit. I have never made a shawl, but was thinking about it, and now the decision has been very nicely and luxuriously made for me. Can't wait to get this one on the needles. I just need to get the needles first...

And since I'm quite sure you've seen enough brown today...

These are the arm warmers I designed for Kaci. It was hard to part with them. She always signs her emails with X's and O's so I used this cable to represent that. It isn't a true x and o cable, but I liked it.

Unfortunately, though, I was in such a rush to wrap gifts that you will just have to imagine the felted pouch I made for Christine and the headband I made for Amanda (both my design) and the hat, scarf and skirt set I made for Lydia's American Girl dolls.

My 'do is a don't

2009-12-28T13:46:00.002-05:00

I just had to cut my hair because I was putting plastic over the window in the kitchen.

How on earth does that make sense? you may ask.

Well, let's just say that when I leaned forward to inspect the plastic to determine whether or not there was a hole in a crease (there was), my hair got sucked into the motor of the hair dryer I was using to shrink the plastic. I turned the dryer off, but not fast enough, and then had to cut my hair or spend my life with a hair dryer hanging off the side of my head.

Another glamorous day...

Socks and mittens

2009-12-21T13:01:00.003-05:00

Sebastian has been a bit jealous of Dorian's "Mommy socks" that I have made, since he doesn't have any. The guilt trip has been long and ridiculous lately, including an Eeyore-esque statement of "I guess these must be Dorian's since Mom never made me any socks." (Actually, they were mine.) So, the little whiner will get these for Christmas.

And Dorian's old mittens are looking a little sad since his thumbs are way too big and are splitting the knitting open. So I decided to whip up these for him.

Now I just need to finish everyone else's presents in 3 short days...

Weirdness

2009-12-19T16:45:00.002-05:00

Today the kids went to the rec center for their "Holiday Drop Off" from 9am to 4pm. For the low, low price of $15 per kid, Jeremy and I had a whole day to ourselves.

It's weird enough to have a night to ourselves, but a day? Odd. We dropped the kids off and came home to make coffee and play RockBand and I felt bizarre. I'm used to a little time alone at home now that both boys have school, but having Jeremy with me was a nice treat.

We played RockBand, did a little shopping, had falafel for lunch, picked up some pastries, and came home to watch Bill Cosby: Himself while I was finishing knitting Dorian's Xmas mittens. We hadn't seen Himself since we were kids, and it is frickin' hilarious. The beginning is a little slow, but the parenting stuff in the second half was breaking my face I was laughing so hard. Laughing and duplicate stitch don't mix too well, but I made it work. It's only on Netflix Instant until the 22nd, so if you need a little nostalgia, you'd better get it quick.

I'll try to take some project pictures soon, but some still have to stay secret. Since the kids don't read the blog, I can at least show you all the socks and mittens...

It's official!

2009-12-15T13:46:00.001-05:00

I literally have yarn coming out of my ears. I was cleaning my ears after a shower and a scrap of sock yarn was embedded in my earwax.

Awesome.

I'm terrible with secrets

2009-12-08T13:27:00.002-05:00

It is extremely difficult right now to do this blog since most of my life is spent doing things I can't show you or tell you about or I would risk ruining a surprise or 10. So I'll tell you a little All School Sing story instead.

This morning, we were singing the ridiculous song "Down by the Bay" which always makes me think of Raffi (not good) and this picture (terrible). If you don't know the song, there is a verse that always ends with a silly rhyming question like, "Did you ever see a moose kissing a goose... down by the bay?"

So the music teacher is roving the crowd where children had prepared silly questions for the song. We would sing the chorus and then he'd hand a kid the mic to say "Did you ever see a star driving a car?" etc. The last child he comes to is sitting on her mother's lap and halfway through her question, she clams up and covers her face. The teacher says "Take 2!" and indicates that we should sing the chorus again.

"Relax," he says. "You just have to say, 'Did you ever see a teacher kissing a creature?' Here we go."

"Did you ever see a preacher kissing a teacher?"

Perhaps a little more risque than he was going for.

A prize in and of themselves

2009-12-03T09:24:00.003-05:00

So, I didn't get them done in time for the contest. Oh, well. They are a prize on their own-- so soft and warm. I finished them last night, but I won't be wearing them today since it is almost 60 degrees outside for some strange reason.

And once the socks were off the needles, I immediately made this little cutie:

An ornament for the store. I'm in the middle of a tiny stocking also. I'm trying to use up all my extra bits of sock yarn left over from other projects. And in the midst of all that I need to find the time to finish all my Xmas knitting for presents...

A quick recap

2009-11-30T08:57:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend was very busy, with my mother in town Thursday lunchtime until Sunday morning and then work on Sunday.

Wednesday

Took Dorian to Little Peoples and had a cafe date with Sebastian.
Did the last shopping of the year at Walker Farm. (Sob.)
Made an apple pie, a pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.
Watched Singin' in the Rain with the kids which they loved and I am so happy they loved. Dorian was crying he was laughing so hard during this scene.
Went out with Christine, Steven and Rosemary for a little pre-holiday fortification.

Thursday

Made a 13 pound turkey. As usual followed the directions and as usual had the turkey finish cooking an hour early.
Had a lovely meal with the kids, the husband, the in-laws and my mother.
Made several quarts of turkey stock to put in the freezer.
Was very tired. Can't remember anything else.

Friday

Had a lazy rainy morning and then went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was fantastic. My favorite part was when one of the characters called something a "cluster cuss".
Made a pot pie-ish thing out of leftovers with mashed potatoes on top. Starting to be really sick of turkey.
Played dominoes. Lost every time.
Somehow got sucked into a show about wedding dress shopping. Can't explain it. Clearly swept up in some holiday weekend vortex.

Saturday

Took the kids ice skating. It was Dorian's first time and Sebastian's second. Sebastian's first time was when he was Dorian's age and he started screaming a quarter of the way around. Jeremy barely got him back to the door to get off the ice. Dorian's first time almost went the same way, but he relaxed at about the halfway point and ended up doing fine. I had not been on ice skates since 7th grade, so it was an exciting experience for me as well.
Went to lunch in Greenfield and then to the Montague Bookmill-- "Books you don't need in a place you can't find."
Had a popcorn dinner while watching Hard Day's Night. The kids also loved this one. We're riding a large wave of Beatlemania around here these days.
Played more dominoes. Lost every game.
Played Waterworks. Won the last game.

Sunday

Got my mother on the road. Sent Jeremy out for donuts. Breakfast of champions.
Went to work. Tried to work on my second mystery sock which is supposed to be finished by midnight tonight if I want to enter the contest.
Had none other than John Hodgman sitting on the couch in the store while his wife shopped for yarn and his kids all took turns needing to use the restroom. I couldn't decide whether to say anything to him, so I opted not to. Later I realized I had missed an opportunity to punch him for all the times I couldn't sleep because Jeremy was laughing so hard next to me while reading his books.
Played more dominoes. Lost every game.

Now I need to put my fingers to a different use and get these socks done. Only 14.5 hours to go. I don't even know what I could win, but I want to dammit!

One thing I'm thankful for

2009-11-24T10:14:00.004-05:00

I realized the other day how glad I am that Rachel opened her yarn store-- not just because she has beautiful yarns, or because I now have a job, but because I have found such an interesting community of younger knitters there.

When I first moved to town, the only knitting circle I could find was at the original yarn store and was a bunch of older women who met on Tuesday mornings. Taking a toddler to that would have been impossible anyway, but it just didn't feel like the right group for me. Then I tried one at a library in the next town, but it wasn't really for me either. Granted, I have had some issues at this one, but they seem to have resolved themselves.

It is just really nice to pop into the store anytime and find a really interesting crew of people knitting together. There's a girl who helped found a roller derby group. There's a graphic designer who is just learning but is cranking out some awesome projects. There's an acupuncturist who is leaving town today to travel the country for a month before moving on to Spain or Colombia. (And I will miss her amazing sense of style.) There's a guy who is helping out a good, if odd, cause. And there is another guy who is a stonemason in the summer and ski patrol in winter. There are plenty more, but you get the idea. All of them are in their mid 20s to early 40s, and they are all good company.

So, today I am thankful for a knitting community that I didn't have to create myself by forcing my friends to learn to knit. (Although, I have been known to do that, too.)

0 for 2

2009-11-23T21:02:00.002-05:00

Jeremy and I suck royally at finding a good movie to see in the theater. Last month was the Invention of Boring. And this month was the reinvention of boring aka Paranormal Activity. Save your money, people! Unless you are a tween, in which case you will probably think it is awesomely scary, when in fact it is not.

However, last night we found a movie that was actually scary and combined 2 elements that I am ashamed to find unsettling.

Burlap sack masks (Mildly ashamed-- I think everyone can agree they are creepy.)
Caves (Somewhat ashamed-- They're just geography. Or geology. Either way, they probably shouldn't freak me out so much.)

So, this little gem is called The Orphanage and is available on Netflix Instant if you are interested. In addition to the aforementioned creepiness, there's the "mother with a secret", the "impossibly large house with too many rooms to get lost in", the "kid who has imaginary friends who might be ghosts" and the "weird, bespectacled old lady" to keep you on edge. I screamed at least once, maybe twice, where I spent a lot of time yawning during the other films.

Sweater show

2009-11-20T11:23:00.004-05:00

Sunday night I finished the raglan sweater for myself:

I really need to wash and block it so the sleeves will stop creeping up my arms, but otherwise I'm happy with it.

And Wednesday after lunch I started this little green number and finished it this morning-- a mere 47 hours later. I think that's a new record for me and sweater making. (Probably because it has short sleeves, but let's not diminish my victory shall we?)

A quick and easy knit on big needles with bulky yarn, it is very cosy and I plan to wear it today.

We can thank Dorian for the photos which made the first sweater look lighter and the second look darker. But you get the gist of it.

The little stinker

2009-11-19T14:50:00.002-05:00

Last week when Dorian slept until 10am, he got up and announced to me that he had "slept as long as a skunk." As baffling as this initially seemed to me, I did have to concede that I don't know how long skunks sleep and that 14 hours may be right on the money.

Then today, Dorian asked me to blow on his pizza because it was "as hot as a skunk on fire." At least it didn't have the accompanying smell.

My awesome idea that will never come to fruition

2009-11-17T14:32:00.002-05:00

The other night it came to me-- what the world really needs is a knitting band. A band that plays music about knitting, and-- get this!-- has a pattern in each song. So if you listen to the song (which would of course be amazing in its own right and feature cookie monster vocals like this) and follow the knitting instructions, you would end up with a sock or a hat or something.

This is pure genius, I know, which just makes it sadder that it will never happen. I just don't have any musical talent. Having a 94% average on Medium drums on RockBand just isn't enough. Maybe I should pass the idea along to Kelley Deal.

Boo to that!

2009-11-15T18:21:00.002-05:00

Friday night, I was almost finished with my sweater. I was so close I could taste it. Then I noticed a mistake and I ripped back 10 rows. I redid the ten rows and then I did 8 more, but something was nagging at me. The yarn, which is somewhat variegated, was doing a sort of stripe thing. But I thought it might not be that bad, which is why I knit 68 of the 92 rows.

And then I looked at it in the cold light of day and it was striped alright. No doubt about it. The only problem being that none of the rest of the sweater is striped. And I didn't set out to have a sweater with one striped sleeve. No, sir. And thus it was frogged. (When you rip it! rip it!) Almost 3 hours of knitting undone in about 30 seconds.

Lucky for me I had another skein and it seems to be working out much better. Maybe I'll even get to wear it tomorrow...

But I'm thinking I maybe need some more stripes in my life and I might need to make one of these, just in a different colorway. You know, because I didn't get enough yarn the other day. It's a miracle I make it out of that yarn store empty handed most weeks.

Fits like a glove... but it's a sock.

2009-11-13T15:29:00.002-05:00

After the multiple distractions of samples for the yarn store, I finally finished sock #1 of my mystery socks.

As I have said before, I think I would like the finished product better in a more solid colored yarn, but that isn't what I used and I do love this yarn anyway.

And because I was done with one sock and one sleeve, I obviously deserved to cash in my chips at the store and take my yarn that I get in trade for the samples. More distractions!

Now the question is: More selfish projects, or do I actually make things for others for the holidays?

I'm not dead and the computer isn't broken.

2009-11-10T19:18:00.003-05:00

I just haven't felt much like blogging lately. I'm trying to wind down from all the PTA rigmarole and remember what to do when I'm not counting other people's money and having meetings and answering endless emails. (Hint: it involves laundry. And having coffee with Amanda while we both fight falling asleep in our armchairs.)

Not having all that to do certainly doesn't mean that I'm not busy, but it has been a more positive kind of busy-ness. Like the boys' birthdays happening last Friday and today. 7 and 4 is a little crazy to think about, but sounds about right. And Rob's birthday falls in the middle, so it has been a week of birthday celebrations, including a trip to the Montshire Museum on Saturday.

Poor DeeDee has been a little under the weather. Friday he was very sensitive and a little snippy. And Saturday he slept until 10am! (I'm not sure when I will stop thinking that oversleeping is a sure indication of my children's deaths, but if I don't get over it soon I'll have quite a time when they are teenagers.) He was healthy and happy when he did finally wake up and was fine Sunday and Monday. But this morning he didn't want to wake up for school and fell asleep again before dinner and then at 6:30 announced it was time for bed. (He did find time to open his presents first.) He doesn't have a fever or anything, but has complained of some leg pain and a headache, and I wouldn't put it past him to be growing again.

Sebastian has been doing well and we had a good parent teacher conference yesterday, which was much better than the other four where either his teachers didn't know what to do with him, didn't think he belonged in their class, or provoked me into an argument. He even won a little prize at All School Sing for doing some extra math problems, so he was excited by that.

I have been trying to fit in the knitting time and am about 10 rows from finishing the first sleeve on my sweater, just have the toe to complete on the first mystery sock, and finished the knitting for the purse and purchased the lining fabric and buttons and just need to buckle down and get it done. Of course, all that has been interrupted by another design for the store. So I am also in the middle of a lacy cowl done in this yarn.

And Jeremy is up to his usual nonsense, monkeying up the English language. In one day he managed to admonish the children to use a "food towel" (napkin) and to ask why all my "hair bops" (rubber bands) were lying around.

As Dorian would say, "The End. That's it."

What I learned at the swine flu clinic

2009-11-04T15:15:00.003-05:00

I made the right choice in not vaccinating my children. Sebastian would have lost his mind in that situation.
Holding down a child who is not your own is somehow easier.
Managing 160 children in grades K-6 who have just received vaccines is not easy, but it is possible. At least I didn't have them all at once.
4th-6th grade boys will choose a picture of a seahorse to color over all the other choices available, including monkeys and dinosaurs. Who knew?
Out of 160 kids, only one had absolutely horrible behavior, but she did write me an apology so I'll forgive her.
And out of 160 kids, only one needed to call her mother. She was a 5th grader.
Older kids found this to be a fantastic opportunity for bragging, ie. punching themselves where they got the shot to prove it didn't hurt, and for picking on the ones who cried and/or limped off. (Why a shot in your arm would cause you to limp I do not know.)
Kids whose parents were there were much more likely to cry, scream, and attempt to kick the Health Dept. workers in the head.
Third graders think that if you get the shot you will die in 30 years.
A parent thinks the next shot is administered in the lip.

One clinic down, one to go.

Roller coaster day

2009-11-03T18:56:00.003-05:00

Today started with my being very ashamed of myself and feeling like a giant ass and is ending with my being very proud and having kind of a big head. So where are these extreme body parts coming from?

Well, yesterday I found out that one of the girls at Dorian's school has a sibling who was diagnosed with (gasp!) swine flu. So, this morning I was leaving the school after dropping Dorian off and on my way out the door, I ran into the mother of this little girl who has decided that since the little girl is not exhibiting any symptoms that she is going to bring her to school. Because I'm an insensitive moron, I greeted her with a lighthearted "Hey, plague-bringer!" Big surprise, this was not received well and she glared at me and said, "That was NOT okay for you to say!" Of course I apologized immediately and profusely, but she was not having any of it. It was a joke. A bad joke to be sure, but a joke nonetheless. I was not trying to be mean or judgmental. That's apparently how I sounded though, and I felt like shit all day.* I wrote her a very nice apology which she will not receive now until next Tuesday when the kids are back in school, but I have done my best to make amends.

Then, this afternoon I decided to stop by the yarn store to drop off the bowl I made but kept forgetting to bring in for a display. When I got there I asked if the owner had had a chance to review the pattern that I wrote for my striped arm warmers. She asked me to write one up using a new yarn we are carrying, so I finished one arm warmer on Sunday at work and typed up the pattern. And, she told me it was exactly what she wanted, and-- get this!-- someone already bought the yarn and got the pattern. My pattern! Someone is knitting my design.

See-- I'm not all bad.

*I felt like shit until I found out that not only did she bring the kid to school (which is questionable enough under the circumstances) but she also brought a snack that she cooked (pasta) and not something like crackers in a sealed package.

Halloween roundup

2009-11-02T18:55:00.004-05:00

We had some really lousy weather for Trick or Treating this year. Let's just say that the smartest costume I saw all night was the girl decked out as a jellyfish in a costume made out of an umbrella. But that didn't deter the children. I even ran out of candy by 7:15.

So, here are the grown-up costumes:
Dr. Acula-- his teeth are horrifying, but his bedside manner is impeccable.Two of Heinz' 57 flavors ready to go to the party featuring the Scary Home Companion Arkestra.

And the one that I didn't get to see in real life but I'm sorry I didn't:

My awesome little brother who was ready for the Day of the Dead a little early.

And I am conspicuously absent from these since I was too lame to dress up this year. I did dress up as Heidi for Sebastian's school parade and party the day before, so if any random pictures surface, I'll pass them along.

For the third time in my life

2009-10-31T15:01:00.003-04:00

This morning I was, yet again, obliged to pronounce that "there is no use crying over spilt milk" when Dorian was covered in spilt milk from his cereal bowl and was, of course, crying.

That Christian Bale sure can act...

2009-10-29T15:19:00.001-04:00

I defy you to find a better Wolfman. See for yourself.

What do accountants get paid?

2009-10-26T20:02:00.002-04:00

Whatever it is, it probably isn't enough and is certainly more than the $0 I made after spending 8 hours today dealing with the money from the raffle/Halloween event. My money counting muscles hurt, the numbers stopped making sense around 3:00 and my hands will probably never come clean.

Good times.

The invention of boring

2009-10-25T09:12:00.005-04:00

Jeremy and I got to have a much needed date night on Friday which I will rate thusly:

Food: B. We went to the restaurant in a local brew pub and while my Indian turkey burger was fine, they forgot to bring me my soup that I desperately needed to warm myself after Sebastian's soccer game.
Games and Tea: A. I won both checkers and Trivial Pursuit. And the chai at the Twilight Tea Lounge was delicious as always.
Movie: C- to D+. We saw The Invention of Lying. It was truly boring. Sadly, profoundly boring. I do not recommend watching it, except for the part with my favorite Wallace lookalike. Except for that all too brief moment, it was deadly dull. And all the more depressing for the abundance of actors that I like. Boo.
Companion: A+. Jeremy's still my favorite person in the whole wide world.

And in other news, the body of my sweater is finally done. I am not fond of the angle at which this shot was taken, but it is the only one I've got.

And a closeup of the edging (which I cribbed from the mystery sock):

And on to the sleeves!

If only it weren't true

2009-10-21T18:51:00.003-04:00

After driving to Sebastian's school for the third time today, this time with a bagel for the boys to split before soccer practice.

Me: Sebastian, here. Put these shorts and things on for soccer.

Sebastian (in his skivvies): Mom! It's almost like we live in the car.

Because it actually can get worse... or at least weirder

2009-10-20T19:04:00.003-04:00

So, after my rotten day of rottenness, I decided to go to the grocery store alone. Should have been a pretty easy thing to do. So I get to the car and realize I don't have my 2 fold up reusable bags. I go back in the house and get them.

I get to the store. I toss them, along with my purse, in the cart. I shop. I get everything on the list. So far so good. I put everything on the conveyor belt.

But where are my bags? They are not in the cart. They are not in my purse. They are not mixed in with my groceries.

Okay, I think, it has been a rough day, maybe I just think I put them in the cart but they are sitting on the seat of my car. Stranger things have happened.

Stranger things have happened. Somebody stole my store brand reusable bags! They were not in the car. I wasn't crazy after all.

My wallet full of cash and credit cards with absurd lines of credit? Nope.
The boys' awesome space hat? Nah.
The keys to my car and house? Not so much.
But my banged up reusable bags? Score!

Metal or bamboo?

2009-10-20T13:36:00.003-04:00

The knitting needles may have to become a weapon now that I have found out that a certain insane person in charge of a certain crazy event thinks I'm not doing anything even though I have wasted both of my free mornings this week doing shit for her. And I already have an hour tomorrow to look forward to as well as Monday morning. She's lucky I don't know the first thing about how to fire bomb a house.

I knit so I don't kill people

2009-10-19T08:54:00.004-04:00

This is a somewhat popular slogan amongst knitters, and it has never been more true for me than lately as my stress level continues to rise. But I won't mention the PTA or the out of control event we are throwing this weekend or the fact that I haven't had a day off in over a month. No, I'll just show you my handiwork. Because even though I am sure a knitting needle would make an awesome murder weapon, I don't want to get blood on my wool.

My mystery sock:

I do wish that the yarn weren't quite so stripy so that the pattern would be more visible, but I like the pattern so much that I will probably knit it again in a color that shows it off a little better. The second clue took me almost the whole week to complete because it was a longer section and I didn't set aside a lot of time for it, but I finished the third clue in one day. I like how the fake cables and the ribbing continue down the heel. I'm really happy I started this project.

My sweater:

The heathery gray simplicity of this knit sort of depresses me, especially since it has been reflecting our weather for the week, but I'm sure that what is not so fun about it to knit is exactly what will make it a staple of my wardrobe. So now I'm on a search for an interesting edge for the cuffs and the bottom, so I can spice it up a little bit.

And, finally, a purse:

Kaci gave me this yarn from her trip to Ireland and I decided a long time ago that I would use it for a bag of some sort. I found a pattern yesterday while I was working and started knitting last night during Mad Men. I have 4 more rows for this piece which will be the front. What I thought was cute in the pattern book is looking suspiciously like underwear. But I'm going to ignore that and keep going. I'm sure when it is finished it won't look like it belongs over a cloth diaper.

It's official

2009-10-16T08:59:00.002-04:00

The weather this year has been insane. After a Summer that was only hot for approximately two weeks (not that I minded that), we have had a very cold Fall-- at least at night, with frost and temperatures in the 20s. I have already had the heat on for a week, where normally I would have tried to hold out until some arbitrary date like October 15th or Halloween or something.

And now it is snowing. That's right. Snowing. It's not sticking. It's not accumulating. But it's snowing.

I think I'll go knit.

2009-10-12T09:04:00.002-04:00

Is it wrong of me to be happy that our raffle didn't sell a single ticket over the weekend so that, instead of counting money for the PTA, I am sitting on my couch in an empty house enjoying a cup of coffee?

I didn't think so.

Putting the "mal" in malabrigo

2009-10-08T08:44:00.003-04:00

Well, just as I was about to get to the part where I put the sleeve stitches on holders, I discovered that I had screwed up yet again and was going to have to start my sweater over from scratch for a fourth time. And therefore, this skein of yarn is cursed.

I will be starting with a new ball. And I will be understanding the directions a little better. And I will not be giving up. But it is pretty disheartening after two perfect sweaters for the boys for which I didn't even use a pattern to not even be able to follow one properly, or to follow it only to have it be wrong.

The first pattern I used was a formula that you plug your gauge into and it spits out a pattern supposedly tailor-made to your knitting. Well, after two goes at that pattern where it became obvious that nothing but a newborn's head would ever fit through the neck hole, I found a different pattern.

The second pattern is already at my gauge and had many glowing reviews on Ravelry. And it was free. But it is also very confusingly written and involves doing one thing while also doing two other things AT THE SAME TIME. Somehow I misunderstood one of the AT THE SAME TIMEs and didn't do it which left me with perfect sleeves but a chest measurement of about half what it was supposed to be. I am not that flat that I can wear a top that measures 17 inches around.

So, I'll be casting back on later with a new ball of yarn. But maybe I should just focus on clue #2 for the mystery socks.

The knitting is the only thing keeping me sane

2009-10-06T13:16:00.002-04:00

I think the only way to make my life more hectic right now would be moving. So thank goodness I'm not doing that, even if there is a cardboard box in the background of the picture.

No, I'm just busy regretting ever joining the PTA or a cooperative preschool. And having wonderful, interesting children who feel the need to do things to make their lives more wonderful and interesting, like soccer and spelling team and such. Doesn't the world know I just want to wear my slippers and eat chocolate? Ha!

But I digress... I have gotten as far as I can get with my mystery sock until the next clue arrives on Thursday. Here is the cuff, with a background of sweet peas from Christine who brought a little Spring back to my life this early Fall:

The colors are 10x more intense than that, but I couldn't get them to photograph better. Think peacock. And I tried to photograph the (3rd) start of my top down raglan sweater, but it is not so impressive at this point, being gray and 3 inches long. (Insert joke here.)

Sock it to me!

2009-10-03T10:13:00.003-04:00

I forced myself to finish these babies yesterday so I could retrieve my needles for a new project-- a mystery knit along. I apparently started these socks back in February (!) to use up the leftover yarn from my socks. And then I was done with one and most of the other and somehow they slipped to the bottom of the basket and the back of my mind as other more pressing matters arose. If you are my facebook friend, you already know that these socks are up for grabs. They don't fit anyone in this house, that's for sure. They are size ~6-18mos, soft machine washable and dryable wool, and available to whoever wants them.

The gray day is not ideal for photographing my new socks, so they will remain even more of a mystery to you than they are to me. But this is the yarn and here is the pattern. The way it works is that every Thursday in October there will be another part of the pattern. So right now, I only have the cuff to work on until next week, meaning I will have to also start my other project for me, my new sweater made with this yarn which is mostly charcoal but with a greenish cast.

Why you couldn't pay me enough to knit sweaters for anyone larger than a 6 month old

2009-10-02T10:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, all the pieces of Sebastian's cardigan were done, so at 8am I commenced putting it all together. It is my least favorite part of the process and involves a lot of hand sewing. Can you guess when I was finally finished? 9:30pm. Yes, 9:30. I will not pretend to have worked on it the entire time, but I did put in an hour from 8-9am, work on it off and on until 1:15pm, did a half hour's work while making dinner, schlepped it to Sebastian's soccer game, took it to knitting circle, and finally brought it home to insert the zipper during Survivor and something called Husbands Who Murder.

And here it is:

Note the "DNA" running down the side:
A handsome sweater for a handsome boy. Let's hope it makes it home from school today.

Totally inappropriate

2009-09-30T20:35:00.002-04:00

I was at a birthday party for a 3 year old tonight. There was a woman talking loudly about the abortion she had when she was 16 and advising all who would listen to just lie about your dates if you go past 3 months.

Thanks for the hot tip.

Longest day

2009-09-28T20:14:00.004-04:00

Today I:

got up and helped hustle the boys out the door.
wasted the hour and a half I had to myself doing laundry so Sebastian wouldn't have to go to school pantsless tomorrow.
went to work.
had Dorian dropped off at work where I somehow managed to keep him occupied and do my job for 4 hours.
was hit on by a drunk man who also asked me if I sold anything alcoholic at a yarn store.
came home for 5 minutes to find 2 messages from the school about how Sebastian thought Christine was picking him up at school instead of the bus stop like I told him 20 times and could I call them to let them know whether to put him on the bus. (No, I can't because now it is 4:50pm.)
found out he was with Christine and had taken the bus like he was supposed to.
went to the last of a series of parenting classes I've been attending where I could at least sit down and eat a pizza I didn't have to cook myself and have someone else watch the kids.
brought the smelly boys home for a bath while I folded the laundry.
read aloud another chapter in Ralph S. Mouse, a book that just isn't doing it for me but is almost done, thank god.
put those kids to bed. (Fingers crossed that Sebastian actually sleeps after a cup of caffeinated root beer-- thank you very much, babysitters.)
collapsed on the couch.

Good night.

All the good news

2009-09-26T16:36:00.002-04:00

While it has been an exhausting couple of weeks, they haven't been too bad. I managed to sell all but one of the pies I needed to sell for Dorian's fundraiser. I can handle buying one for myself, but I was getting a little concerned when I thought I might have to buy 5.
I had a meeting with the principal about Sebastian's schooling and only got good news about how he is doing this year and we were in agreement that he is getting what he needs, so that's nice.
I made the best batch of whole grain chippers yet yesterday, and in a completely neighborly way. I realized too late that Jeremy used the last of the eggs for breakfast, and as I was walking with the boys to buy some more eggs, we ran into some neighbors who offered us the egg we needed for our recipe. And then we returned the favor by bringing them some of the goodies. Makes you want to gag, doesn't it?

And I finished this little guy:

Scampy the ram, named by Sebastian, loved by all who meet him. He'll be living at Knit or Dye, if you'd like to visit him. This is what he looked like before he took his trip through the washer:

And now I have 2 days of work, a field trip, and an in-service day (no school Wednesday) to look forward to.

Are you ready for this one?

2009-09-23T16:15:00.002-04:00

No, you probably aren't.

Remember my neighbors, the ones who don't use toilet paper? Well, I happened to overhear a conversation today in which the oldest child was telling someone how the youngest had nursed until she was 4 and a half. And then proceeded to tell about how her brother nursed until he was... wait for it... 7 years old.

Maybe that's why he "never yearned to spell his own name." He was busy with other things.

SPOILER: The answer is "yes"

2009-09-22T20:39:00.003-04:00

Is it completely ridiculous that this morning, I sold a $10 apple pie to Christine for Dorian's preschool fundraiser, only to turn around and hand her the same $10 bill back this evening for a 5 pack of allium bulbs for Lydia's elementary school fundraiser?

Yes, I have fallen off the face of the earth. Why do you ask?

2009-09-20T21:32:00.004-04:00

Remember when I told a fellow board member what was what about how I wanted nothing to do with a certain event? Well, the event apparently is not letting me go so easily. Poor Hott Mama, wanted by diminutive Hispanics and overlarge fundraisers alike... I have been spending the last week sifting through an average of 15 emails a day on this mind-numbing topic, at least several of which require some response on my part.

Today, though, I got to escape to my hobby job and ignore that shit for 6 solid hours. I also managed to:

finish that bulky baby sweater*.
use the sample to sell 2 copies of the pattern and enough yarn for 3 versions.
help some people with their knitting troubles.
assist a woman in a one-person fashion show of all the adult-sized samples in the store.
sell 5 out of the 6 skeins of this yarn that we had in stock.
have the exact same conversation with the 3 different women who bought that yarn about how those yarns usually are more red, but the ones they bought were blue, green, or white.
start knitting a sheep, which sounds a little backwards I know, but it should be cute when it's done.
make more in sales than it cost the owner to pay me to be there all day which is more than I can say for last week.

And now it is time to fall asleep in front of Mad Men so that I can wake up refreshed and ready to perform the newest installment of nature puppet shows in the morning.

* Whether the "bulky" refers to the weight of the yarn or of the child is anyone's guess. The finished product certainly looked like it was designed to accommodate Humpty Dumpty, Jr.

J'aime le futbol!

2009-09-16T19:37:00.003-04:00

That's what I'd say if I were a good little French soccer mom. Instead, I'm an okay medium-sized American mother who happens to take her child to soccer because he asked her to and it only costs $15 for 8 weeks. (Let's pretend I didn't spend the morning having the oil changed in my minivan and buying soccer socks to help hold up the shinguards on his scrawny little legs.)

After today, I should never have to do PTA again. Ever.

2009-09-14T21:28:00.002-04:00

But y'all know I will, so let's not pretend. Basically, though, I went in for a tangentially related PTA experience from 9-9:30am and then went back to the school where I was in 3 consecutive meetings from 5:30-8:45pm. That is not an exaggeration, and I barely had time for the one pee break I took.

Overall, our first public meeting went well. We only went over by about 5 minutes and the attendees were positive and interested. So that was good.

The only dicey part came when one member of our board decided to not only accuse us all of not appreciating her enough, but also decided to imply that I personally would not be doing enough for the school if I chose not to help her with her fundraiser.

That's when I finally got to tell her what's what (in a mostly respectful way) and totally shut her down. My dear friend who is also the secretary told me I "toed the line" a little bit in the way I handled the situation, but whatever. She's just lucky I left my knitting needles at home.

My first day was definitely not my worst day

2009-09-13T20:13:00.003-04:00

I did my first whole day of work at the knit shop today and it was pretty good. I still haven't gotten over the fact that I am being paid to look at pretty yarn all day. And not only am I also paid to knit, but if I knit for the store (samples and stuff), I get free yarn. Not too shabby. So I started a top-down raglan for the store in a 6 month size with this yarn which is exactly the yarn that I want for a project for myself (although not in that color).

Other than the occasional reminders of the high percentage of freaks there are in this town, it was a good day.

He doesn't just have a potty mouth

2009-09-11T09:15:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Dorian wore his new sweater to the bus stop to pick up Sebastian. Along the way, he showed it off to the neighbors announcing, "Look at my beautiful sweater! Mama made it." That would have been heartwarming enough, but then we had this exchange:

Dorian: My shirt says, "A is for Astronaut."

Me: Yep.

D: What does my sweater say?

M: I don't know. Does it say something?

D: It says, "I love you, Dorian. You are my sweetie pie. I'm so glad I have you."

I was speechless and a little teary-eyed. That's exactly what it says.

And then this morning he used the word "muff" at the breakfast table.

Check!

2009-09-09T16:51:00.001-04:00

Trying to catch up

2009-09-09T11:02:00.004-04:00

I'm feeling rather behind on things lately, mostly due to my complete inability to refrain from adding more projects to my life. So, I'm working on knocking a few things off the old to-do list and have made some progress in the last 24 hours.

This morning I put the first coat of paint on the floor in Dorian's room.

And last night, I started the fronts of Sebastian's cardigan. He picked out a couple of cables including one he thinks looks like DNA. That DNA cable should be a DNR. I hate it. It looks fine, but it is a gigantic hassle and I am going to have to tell him that I will definitely not be putting those cables up the sleeves as he requested. And I made (gasp!) a mistake at the beginning of one of those cables and even though it will probably annoy me for life, it happened far too long ago for me to be willing to rip it back and fix it. Oh well.
And later today I get to mow the lawn and make dinner for some friends before Beatles RockBand takes over our lives.

Please don't remind me about the quilt I haven't finished or the Halloween costumes I need to start making.

An exciting day!

2009-09-07T18:59:00.003-04:00

Today was a banner day at the Hott Pockets house. First we made oatmeal this morning and Sebastian ate it and liked it for the first time ever. Maybe it was because I let him spoon the brown sugar on himself... or maybe he finally realized how perfectly delicious oatmeal is. Either way, I foresee an autumn full of yummy hot cereal for breakfast. Maybe I can break their fried egg habit once and for all.

Then Jeremy and I finished the second coat of paint and the trim for Dorian's new room. All that's left is painting the floor, getting the window installed, and having Rob help me build a box to hide the exposed pipe. Minor details...

Then we took the kids to a park a little south of here that is still awesome enough to have seesaws. And it was there that history was made. On Saturday I decided that Sebastian really needed to try riding his bike again after a summer of refusing to ride and putting me off with a series of "maybe later"s. And boy was it ugly! Jeremy got all frustrated with Sebastian, Dorian was whining about his tricycle, they all came home and disappeared into the house while I searched for the pump to fill Sebastian's tires. Then I hollered something about being fed up with all of them and stormed outside. Jeremy threatened to call his mother to cancel her babysitting so we could have our date. It was not pretty. But then I took over with Sebastian and Jeremy dealt with Dorian, and things got much better, but his riding was still pretty awkward even with the training wheels. Sunday, his riding was better but he was still relying on the training wheels a lot.

In the big parking lot at the park today, though, we could hardly hear his training wheels at all. One of them was a little loose so I asked if I could take it off. And he was totally fine with just one, and didn't really need that one either. At this point, Jeremy had taken Dorian to the bathroom, so I convinced Sebastian that we should take the second one off too and really surprise Daddy when he returned. I almost cried when he took off across the parking lot on two wheels with no trouble. Much better the tears of pride than those frustrated ones two days ago. Now he just needs to learn to tie his shoes and he'll be all set.

While we were at the park and the kids were busy looking for trolls and Jeremy was busy cackling while reading a John Hodgman book, I finished these:

Dorian's new socks! Autumn here we come...

It's not a party without Lenny

2009-09-06T09:13:00.002-04:00

Last night was the big night for my September date with Jeremy. We were invited by his boss to a party she was having at her house in the middle of nowhere. I knew that this would not be date enough for me so I insisted on being taken out to dinner first. This was a very wise choice on my part.

We went to a restaurant on the west side of town that I have never even considered going to, but my mother gave us these gift certificates to random places we've never been before that have totally expanded our horizons. The dinner was delicious (lots of butter) and the weather was lovely and other than a fly drowning itself in my salad dressing (I was finished with the salad when this happened), it was a wonderful meal.

Then we went to the liquor store to fulfill the BYOB part of the invitation to the party and headed down a series of winding dirt roads to the boss' house. And what a scene we arrived for! I haven't been to such a ridiculous party since the last party I attended.

There was a man named "Lenny" dressed in a tuxedo and sneakers dancing on a rock while singing Frank Sinatra karaoke. (Even the hostess didn't know where this dude came from.)
One of Jeremy's coworkers was so drunk that she tripped down the steps and rolled ass over teakettle all the way down the hill into the backyard.
There was a dog fight.
I looked over at one point to see a woman who Jeremy is in the process of interviewing for a job kneeling at her boyfriend's crotch level. (It looked like things were going to get much more inappropriate than they did.)
Another drunk woman was "dancing" and fell against the furniture more than once before Jeremy's boss' boss decided it would be a good idea to spin her.
Lenny came over to offer to sing "Moonlight in VT" to me and Jeremy so we could "kiss and cuddle... or fight about the kids."
I met a man who holds 2 jobs: one as a firefighter, one at a pet crematorium.

That was enough "party" to last me a good, long time.

Things I have seen when picking DeeDee up from preschool

2009-09-02T08:46:00.002-04:00

Dorian waiting by the fence watching for my car. "Mom, I think you are late!" "I'm actually 5 minutes early." "Well, don't forget to check my mailbox."
A scabby child hugging Dorian goodbye.
Kids that I sincerely wish were not attending Sebastian's school being picked up from 1/2 day kindergarten.
Dorian happily playing with all the new "guys" at his new school.
A woman driving a Hummer take out 2 orange cones used to direct the kindergarten traffic.

I need a little more practice with this whole no kids thing

2009-08-31T13:46:00.002-04:00

The boys started school today in pants that are too long and with backpacks that are too big. But they were happy and excited. And so was I. Four whole hours to myself on a weekday?! Turns out I don't really know what to do with myself in such a situation.

Allegra and I drove downtown together to meet Amanda, and that's when we found out that the cafe was closed for renovations. So we went to a different cafe and I called Christine and Rosemary who didn't get the message in time, so we never hooked up with them. Long story short: we quickly ran out of things to do. I did find some jeans at the consignment store, but mostly Allegra and I would poke around and then look at each other pathetically and wonder what to do next.

But that's okay. It was our first time and we have a whole year to figure this out. Besides, I don't think I'd have the same problem at home with my endless to-do list. I just obviously cannot be out in the real world alone for that long.

Another school year begins...

2009-08-28T16:03:00.004-04:00

And it is abundantly clear that I learned absolutely nothing last year. In the space of a half hour "Meet and Greet" I have embroiled myself in doing the healthy snack again and upping my puppet show quotient from 4 to 8. That is on top of the treasurer duties which keep piling up and doesn't include whatever chore I will be assigned by Dorian's cooperative preschool. And I decided to take a job in addition to this?!

Today was one of those days...

2009-08-27T20:16:00.005-04:00

... where I actually felt like I was doing something right. It is easy for me to get bogged down in the little dumb stuff in life and parenting. And it is even easier to get bogged down in the big dumb stuff. For example, I am happy that the kids have been much better behaved since I pitched a fit last Thursday, but I don't feel particularly good that I frightened them by threatening to leave them on the side of the road. I know that I don't always make the best choices or do the perfect thing, and that is really hard for me to accept so I have a tendency to beat myself up a little.

But there are days where I just want to cry because I think my kids are so goddamn lucky to lead the life they do. (Crazy mother and all.) And today was one of those days.

Crazy mother went out with several other crazy mothers last night, and when I say went out, I mean until last call. So I wasn't home until midnight and didn't go to sleep until later than that and woke up as tired as when my head hit the pillow. But I got some pants on and went and picked up Amanda and her boys and we all headed up to Putney to go to the orchard there. The plums weren't ripe, but there were blueberries, so Amanda and I picked nearly a gallon apiece while the kids played amongst the bushes in the glorious sunshine.

And after a quick return to the farm stand for an urgent bathroom visit (inevitable with 4 kids in tow) we put the kids in 2 wagons to go look for the reindeer. We didn't see them, but the kids were enjoying the wagon ride and I thought that Sebastian and Riley would probably have more fun (and I wouldn't hurt my back so much) if they tried to ride the wagon down the hill by themselves. And so Sebastian was the Hobbes to Riley's Calvin. And they loved it! And all I could think was that this was what summer should be-- riding in a red wagon down a dirt track amidst a beautiful orchard in this beautiful state that we are fortunate enough to call home. What more could these kids ask for than 2 mamas who love them enough to take them to an orchard to run and play and crash a wagon into a fence while the mamas pick berries for jam to enjoy all winter? Will they think of today when they eat a piece of toast with jam 3 months from now? Will I remember to? Who knows? But it is very nice to be able to appreciate these times as they happen. And now I sound too much like a certain other blogger who tends toward the sappy and often makes me gag a little but takes very pretty pictures, so I will leave you with this pretty picture in her honor:

A ginormous dragonfly I found in the grass...

(But I won't leave before telling you that as usual I have bit off more than I can chew by not only buying enough blueberries to make 4 pints of jam, but also a half bushel of apples I now have to turn into applesauce. It was only $8... how could I pass up the opportunity to add more work to my life for that price? And I finished making up Dorian's sweater... other than the zipper and button... but it is sewn together.)

It's getting worse...

2009-08-24T20:16:00.003-04:00

So apparently at breakfast this morning Dorian decided to say "boobs"-- apropos of nothing, of course. But the topper came at the lake today. There was a naked baby girl wandering around.

Me: Look at that chubby little baby!

Dorian: Oh, what a sweet pussy-puss!

Me: [trying not to sound alarmed] What was that, Dorian?

Dorian: What a sweet pussy-puss!

Me: Where did you get that word?

Dorian: I made it up for the sweet pussy-puss.

Rainy weekend activities

2009-08-23T19:40:00.004-04:00

It is nice to have a rainy weekend every now and again to catch up on things instead of running off to find a spot of sand at the lake. So, did we make good use of our time? I'd say so.

Yesterday, Jeremy and I primed the walls in what was the music room. We did, that is, until we ran out of primer with only 7 square feet to go. Then we went out to lunch and to the grocery store. A brief respite at home and then we were off Chez Flapdoodle for a pizza party to celebrate a variety of things including their refinancing of their house and our friend Henry getting out of the "clam shell" he has been wearing all summer after breaking his spine. Yes, his spine.

Today was spent making banana muffins from some fruit fly magnets, taking a quick trip to the hardware store for more primer, and blocking Dorian's sweater.

All that remains is to sew it up, add a collar, and insert a zipper I have not yet purchased. Details, details.

I also harvested some stubby little carrots. 4 months of growing for that.
And our first eggplant! Yum!

I also went to see Food, Inc. It was okay. But here's the thing. Even though I am all for organic agriculture and try to shop locally as much as possible, that movie was so over the top at some points that I basically left the theater wanting to eat a Mickey D's hamburger just to spite the filmmakers. Whoever was in charge of the score saw fit to have a horror movie soundtrack during portions involving Monsanto or slaughterhouses. We got it already! And any time there was a corporate farm or a corn field depicted, everything was brown and dusty; but if an organic or small farm was on screen, all you could see was green mountain vistas and idyllic red barns. Please. And don't make Stonyfield yogurt out to be some fabulous company whose president is raving about all the tons of pesticides and antibiotics that aren't being used because they are "organic". Well, I have to ask about all the oil that went into both the plastic packaging that went swirling past as the film went through the factory and the trucks that will transport these dairy products across the country.

But enough of that little tirade. If you've been under some sort of rock lately and have no idea about sustainable farming or the horrors of corporate agribusiness, maybe you should see the film, but otherwise I wouldn't waste my time if I were you.

After I came back from the movie, Jeremy and I painted the ceiling in the former music room, and then I broke out a pane in the window simply by painting the frame. And now for the room news: the music room aka Dustin's room is going to be Dorian's room (or miniDust's room). The drumset will go in Sebastian's room. Dorian is excited to have his own room, since he never has, and I think Sebastian will enjoy having a room of his own again.

After dinner, I cut the boys' hair.

And now I have 2 hours to kill until Mad Men...

Big doings!

2009-08-21T13:10:00.003-04:00

So, guess what? I'm now gainfully employed. That's right. In 2 weeks, I will be a working mom-- you know, as opposed to all the loafing around I've been doing for the last 6+ years.

And here's the best part: It is only 6 hours a week, and it's at the yarn store. So, I will get paid to-- get this!-- knit. Well, when I'm not helping customers and shit. Starting the 2nd week in September, I will be there every Sunday from 11-5.

I did not plan to get a job, but I always thought that if something came around that

did not involve watching someone else's child(ren)
did not require my paying for childcare
didn't involve a lot of office politics
seemed somewhat enjoyable

I would take it. And then last night at knitting circle, Miss Rachel said that if I knew anyone *wink, wink* who would be interested in working on Sundays and had retail experience and happened to be a good knitter who could answer people's questions, I should let her know. I presented the possibility to Jeremy who thought it would be fine, but said it was up to me. And then this morning, Dorian and I went in to hang out and knit during Sebastian's cooking class at the co-op and I told her I would like to do it if she'd have me.

I will be making twice as much a month as Dorian's preschool costs, so I'll have enough left over to hand right back to Rachel for more yarn. Sounds good to me.

Argh.

2009-08-20T14:38:00.003-04:00

About 3 minutes after arriving at the lake on Monday, a certain friend of mine announced to the entire world that she was "not a patient mama today!" And despite her announcement, she totally was, but sometimes you just have to let everybody know how things stand.

Well, you know what? I am not a patient mama today. I'm not. I have screamed at the children several times for being, variously: rude, whiny, obnoxious, holier-than-thou, tiresome... you know, all the things I have been accused of being my whole life.

So far today I have had to put up with

being woken up by Dorian screaming about all the miseries of life.
finding out that during his sleepover, Sebastian and a girl friend of his were kissing in bed. (But it's okay because they are "in love").
listening to complaints about what kind of sandwiches I had to offer for lunch and how Sebastian would not suffer the indignity of eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich.
taking the kids to the pool for an hour (even though I was already pissed about their behavior) because we had made plans to meet someone else there.
allowing the kids to have ice cream mainly because they had been promised it as part of the whole pool excursion, only to have them end the experience by screaming at each other about whether or not a tagger should continue to tag after tagging someone.
listening to Dorian shriek about how he needed to hold a CD case that he had just handed to me of his own volition.

I almost left them on the side of the road. It was only my slight fear of police intervention and my greater fear of the vicious gossip mills in this town that prevented me. And to think that when someone asked me if I was looking forward to the start of school I said "no".

Sartorial shenanigans

2009-08-19T13:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday at the mall in my favorite teenager clothing shop as I tried on a coat with a "fur" hood:

Sebastian: I just love a woman such as yourself in a fur coat such as that.

And that is why he is my favorite shopping companion.

******************

Today at the library's end of summer cupcake party:

Teacher friend: You and C always have the cutest clothes. I need to go shopping with the soccer moms.

You can imagine what a knife to the gut that was. A very innocent, genuinely complimentary knife to the gut. Soccer mom!?! Just because Sebastian went to soccer camp and wants me to sign him up for the fall soccer team doesn't... mean...

[sob]

Good little Americans

2009-08-18T15:51:00.003-04:00

Today, like yesterday and the day before and the day before that, was hot. Too hot. It was too hot to be at the lake yesterday, what with water like a warm bath, and the pools are too sunny to be refreshing. Summer! Probably my least favorite season. If it weren't for the gardening...

So today we beat the heat like good little Americans by driving an hour to spend the day at the mall in the blessed A/C doing some Back to School shopping. My mother generously sent the kids some spending money, so Sebastian got to hone his math skills adding up his purchases. He did pretty well.

This is the jacket he insisted he needed which cost him 40% of his budget. (Sebastian seems to be loving the resurgence of the 80s bright colors). Dorian insisted on the robot hat. They also picked out some new shirts-- a robot one and a comic book word one for Sebastian, an alien one and a robot one for Dorian. They each got a pair of pants. And Sebastian got a new lunch box while Dorian got a backpack and underwear.

Jeremy and I weren't left out in all this consumption... he gets a new pair of jeans and I got some accessories and a sweater and a tank top.

Now I just have to wait a week and a half to ship them off to school...

Parallel paths weekend

2009-08-15T19:48:00.003-04:00

Jeremy originally wanted to call it the divorce weekend, but that sounds a little inflammatory and would imply that we aren't getting along and I would never want you to think things were anything but peachy keen around here, so "parallel paths" it is.

It was already decided that Jeremy and Sebastian would take a little trip down to 6 Flags on Sunday, leaving me and DeeDee to our own devices for the day since he is too little for, and I get horrible motion sickness on, most rides. Half the time I can barely watch my own knitting needles at work, much less ride a roller coaster.

Then this morning Sebastian and I wanted to go to the lake, but Dorian and Jeremy wanted to go for a hike. Finally we realized that there was no reason why we had to compromise, so I took one kid and he took the other. And it was nice. I got to have some alone time with Sebastian and not have to scan the water constantly for 2 children or deal with one who wants to swim out in the deep part and one who wants to be on the beach. And Dorian got someone to take him to Putney Mtn, a request he has been making for weeks that I have for no real reason been ignoring.

We were a happy foursome again for dinner and grocery shopping this evening, so don't worry. Nobody's going to be asking to crash on your couch. At least, nobody from this house.

Happy House-iversary!

2009-08-14T13:48:00.003-04:00

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of when we bought our house. Twelve months ago, Christine watched the boys so we could sign our lives away and initial repeatedly to be handed 10 copies of the key to our house. And a very short time after that, we embarked on 11 crazy days of getting the house somewhat ready for us to move in. I'm still working on making the house livable and from what I hear, I will spend the rest of the time that I own it doing so. Fine by me.

And the good news is that the insurance company was satisfied with the purple garage and the fixed window and the invoice for the trim being painted and has graciously allowed us to pay them hundreds of dollars to continue having their insurance. They had our back during that whole sewer pipe debacle, so it's definitely worth it.

So, here's to our half-painted, 129 year old, humble abode-- well worth the expense and effort!

I never should have disappointed Cortney in this way

2009-08-13T09:06:00.002-04:00

She said she'd never have a friend who belonged to the PTA, and even though she promised me we'd still be friends even though I allowed myself to become treasurer of the organization, I know a little part of her love for me died that day. As well it should have, since I was clearly demonstrating that I was a person with no sense, totally blind to reason.

The two hour meeting the other night actually lasted 2 and a half hours and would have gone longer had I not announced that it must have been after 9 at that point and discussions were devolving into committee level detail. A vodka cranberry later, I was on the verge of quitting. However, I did make a commitment and I don't like to be a quitter, so the only solution that I could see was to air my grievances to the rest of the board.

This resulted in a shit storm of approximately 10 million emails back and forth-- some defensive, some productive, all tiresome (including mine). And now we get to have another meeting immediately before the meeting that we are scheduled, according to the bylaws, to have a meeting immediately after.

All of this just makes me realize that I should just be doing what I enjoy and actually impacts the students, like puppet shows about snowflakes, and not what makes me frustrated, like sitting through seemingly endless meetings about fundraising which was the part I thought we should be spending less time on, not more.

Why didn't I focus more on clinging to a friend 3000 miles away instead of my misguided do-goodery? Because I am a fool.

It's finally summer...

2009-08-11T15:27:00.003-04:00

It is hot. So hot that even though I am feeling excessively lazy and a smidgen burnt out on sand these days, I got everything together to take the kids to the lake. Well, everything except Dorian's sandwich which I managed to leave on the counter instead of bringing for his lunch. You can imagine how disappointed he was that I was forced to buy him a hot dog.

I even got in the water pretty much first thing instead of postponing because (not enough sun/too windy/needed a Dr. Pepper first/too lazy). But after each child had his respective breakdown (lost plastic man/slipped underwater), it was clearly time to return home.

Now I just get to stew until it's time to go to a fucking midsummer PTA meeting from 7-9pm. Why, oh why, did I get myself into this?

I finally got my purple fix

2009-08-09T18:06:00.003-04:00

The garage is finally done, and since it required the purchase of a second gallon of paint, I had enough left over to do the 2 back doors.

And today we went blueberry picking and I made some nice purple jam. Never did get raspberries, I'm sorry to say. But that's okay. The blueberry jam tasted pretty awesome on the corn fritters I made with my first Walker Farm corn of the year. No better corn in the world. And I also managed to put three bags of kernels in the freezer to enjoy throughout the winter. Good stuff.

The vacation so far

2009-08-05T14:59:00.003-04:00

So far on this trip I have:

Done some of the best boogie boarding of my life.
Put in some "work" on my tan.
Gone on a date with Jeremy that involved outlet shopping, an Indian dinner, wandering around Portsmouth with a yummy ice cream cone, and a walk on the beach in the moonlight.
Given my children 4 desserts in one day-- the ice cream cone cookies pictured below for breakfast dessert, Starburst for lunch dessert, a pint of ice cream masquerading as a "kiddie" cone in the afternoon, and a slice of fudge cake after dinner. Can you say, "Vay-cay-shun"?

Received a fantabulous present from my sister-in-law of some totally amazing crafting books, as well as some gorgeous yarn from her trip to Ireland. Lucky me!
Had the following conversation while trying to boogie board:: Man: So, where did you get your board? Me: squinting without my glasses It's my father-in-law's. Man: Oh, because this one belongs to my friend, but it's only rated up to 150 lbs and I'm bigger than that. :: Now, I don't know what he wanted me to say; perhaps, [sultrily] "Just how big a man are you?" I never should have let Dorian talk me into wearing the cute suit today. Either way, when he continued to try to befriend me, I just rode the next wave to the shore and gave Jeremy a turn. Oddly, he didn't try to make Jeremy's acquaintance.
Finished a pair of arm warmers for the fall with the yarn I got for free. I love the yarn and I am quite happy with the arm warmers. I am also quite happy that I do not need them at this particular moment.

Now I've got my DDR shirt on and I'm ready to head down to the boardwalk and the shooting gallery (not the heroin kind) and the fireworks.

It's done! I'm done! And we're off!

2009-08-01T11:56:00.003-04:00

Blurry, artistically angled photos by Sebastian

I finally finished the sweater last night-- well, other than putting on the button I never got around to purchasing. It fits. It is now too hot to wear, but it fits. I'm hoping for some nice sea breezes and long walks along the ocean that will necessitate this sort of attire this week while we are away.

Have a good week!

The waster

2009-07-30T16:03:00.002-04:00

Well, we now have a diagnosis for Mr. Sickly McLieAbout-- Lyme disease.

When I took him to the doctor on Monday, I had to hold him down forcibly to have his blood drawn for a variety of tests. It was not one of the most pleasant parenting moments I've had, I assure you. Even when he was announcing to the 2 nurses and the lab technician that he was "postponing this! This is postponed!" and everyone was trying to stifle the snickers, it was not pleasant. Only with the promise of seeing the lab and the microscope, and the opportunity to run his own urinalysis, did he relent and allow a couple small vials to be filled.

The initial test indicated that his blood count was normal, so that was good-- no cancer. The inflammation test was high, but was a non-specific test so it couldn't explain the inflammation, only announce its presence. There was also a Lyme test being done, but only because it is summer, and not because he was really presenting with Lyme symptoms other than the exhaustion.

I received a call yesterday saying that if the Lyme test came back negative they might want to do a chest x-ray to rule out juvenile onset rheumatoid arthritis. Ugh! And then this morning we came home from soccer camp (Hey, he still wants to go every day. I'm not a terrible mother.) to a message from the doctor saying the Lyme results were "interesting".

Apparently, "interesting" means "positive" and now Sebastian will be taking 3 weeks of antibiotics. The weird thing is that I never saw his bulls eye rash until today after the diagnosis. Being the 6 and a half year old that he is, I no longer dress him, or wipe his butt, or spend a lot of time around his nakedness. But today I happened to come around the corner when he was seated on the toilet to see a round mark on his hip.

So now I guess I'll go read some frightening information on the Internet so I can feel less relieved that I at least know what the problem is.

What I've feared for 5 years

2009-07-28T23:22:00.003-04:00

Ever since we moved here, I have been nervous on one short stretch of a nearby street when I walk there alone at night. I am not afraid of thieves or rapists or thugs. I am afraid of wild animals. It is the only part of the walk that is somewhat wooded and, despite the chain link fence along the sidewalk, I am always convinced some creature is going to confront me.

Tonight, it happened.

As I headed up the hill, exactly halfway through the scary part, there was a loud rustle to my left. I could see people up ahead, so I did not want to embarrass myself by running screaming up the road. (It is a small town after all, and I have hidden my insanity from the general public reasonably well thus far.) I also decided that I should see what was causing this ruckus, as it had clearly gone up a tree, but not high enough to jump onto my head, and it would be silly to be afraid of a cat-- even the feral cats roaming these streets.

I know it isn't a fresh water squid. Nor is it particularly large. So, I turn to look. It is 10:15pm. It is dark. The critter is dimly back lit and clinging to a tree. I squint at it, and although I can only see its silhouette, I know it is staring back at me. It is the size of a large cat. Okay, so it could be a cat, perhaps a raccoon. And I know from experience that yelling "Raccoon!" at a raccoon will make it waddle away in disgust, so I could deal with a raccoon. But upon further inspection by yours myopically, the ears looked rather round, like maybe a bear cub's might. And where a bear cub the size of a cat is, the mama bear is generally not far behind, and I was not taking any chances, knitting needles in my bag or no, so I hustled up the hill.

And nothing chased me. Take that nature!

He's wasting away...

2009-07-27T11:16:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I will be taking Sebastian to the doctor for the second time in about 2 weeks as he seems to be suffering from some sort of Victorian era wasting disease along the lines of consumption or melancholia or malaise. The boy took a 2 and a half hour nap yesterday afternoon after having a full night's sleep and slept all night last night as well. He has been subsisting on chicken and rice soup and yogurt and looking deathly pale. It would all be terribly romantic if it weren't sprawled all over my living room couch. Next thing I know I'll have to bring a wheelchair and blankets to the ocean with us next week.

But don't worry too much. He insisted on attending soccer camp this morning where he earned a green card* for winning a dodgeball style game.

* I haven't yet figured out who is letting a bunch of Brits pass out green cards, but when I do, I'll let you know.

What happens when Jeremy is gone

2009-07-25T11:07:00.003-04:00

The first day (after crying quietly for a few moments) I take the children for a walk to the farmer's market on the off chance that there will be raspberries. We just get a small container to eat on the spot. No jam today. Then we head to the thrift store and buy a Spiderman comic pajama top for Sebastian and a DDR shirt for me. Who cares that it's a child size shirt? It says, "I can't dance without arrows." We go next door to the discount natural foods store where I stock up on such necessities as organic pop tarts, all natural strawberry daiquiri mix, and cheese filled pretzel sticks.

We stop a couple of times on the way home to gossip about the 16 year old pregnant girl down the street and my neighbor who passed away recently. We arrive at home where I leave Dorian unattended for 10 minutes and come back to find this:

The kids have a minor breakdown later when it is discovered that Wipeout has been postponed by the President's press conference. I put them to bed, then somehow don't go to sleep myself until 1am. I did watch Very Young Girls about prostitution in NYC on Netflix Instant and get some knitting done, so it seemed worth it at the time.

The second day we keep ourselves busy by going out to lunch, enjoying the lake despite an obviously emotionally disturbed child terrorizing us, and then going to the library to pick up Dorian's prize and fill out their reading program cards. Sebastian has read 46 books so far and Dorian has read 18 books all by himself. We go home to have a little dinner which Sebastian proclaims seems more like lunch, and I prepare to take the kids with me to knitting night.

I bring what the shop owner calls "cuptails" that I manage to make taste like liquid Jolly Ranchers. I also bring what I hope is enough workbooks and magazines to keep the kids occupied so that I may actually knit. I do manage 10 more rows on my sleeves before the kids start acting up and then Sebastian finds a way to get his finger stuck in a peg hole in the adjustable table. It almost didn't come out, but it did. We cleared out shortly thereafter. Again I put the kids to bed on time, but stay up until 1am. This time I tried to watch Lisa Kudrow's show The Comeback but it just wasn't doing it for me. So I cut it off halfway through the third episode and wasted time online instead.

Two days down, the last day is a lazy one. Well, for the kids anyway. I puttered about the house doing laundry, weeding, and sanding and spackling the spare room. We played some Memory (I kicked their butts) and they watched some AstroBoy. After they went to bed, I watched Birth, a lame "mystery" starring Nicole Kidman that I would not advise anyone watch. But I got more knitting done, so it achieved its purpose.

And now Jeremy is home and life can go back to normal, ie. my falling asleep around 10:30pm.

de Blob

2009-07-23T20:48:00.002-04:00

For Jeremy's birthday, Dustin and Cortney brought him de Blob, a game for the Wii where you have to repaint a world gone gray. It is really cool visually and a good blend of wandering around and actual challenges. But I have a couple of bones to pick with it.

You can't just save whenever you want/need to. The only saving happens at the end of the level. This is a problem because
The levels are getting progressively longer. Level 1 took me 42 minutes. Level 2 took 75 minutes. And level 3 took me 101 minutes.

The thought of spending over 2 hours completing the next level makes me a little cranky. As much as I like playing, I don't want it to feel like such a huge commitment. I can't have the kids watch me play for that long, nor do I want to waste an entire evening with Jeremy on a game.

Dilemmas, dilemmas... what's a girl to do?

In a pickle

2009-07-21T15:43:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I managed to throw yet another monkey wrench into my life by buying a big basket of pickling cucumbers at Walker Farm. It had become quite clear that my own cucumber vines were not planning on being productive enough for me to make pickles from my own garden and I had accepted that fact. So when I saw this half-price basket of cukes, I was tempted. And then Amanda gave me that last little bit of encouragement, and I was on my way home with more cucumbers than I thought and 3 bunches of dill. ($22) We stop at the grocery store for mustard seed, vinegar and quart jars. ($17.70)

When we got home, I put all the boys on cucumber cleaning duty and gathered the rest of the supplies.

Four hours and one emergency trip to the store for more garlic and mustard seed ($4.50) later, I was out of jars, but not out of cucumbers. There were still 7 large and 25 medium cukes mocking me from my colander and a large mixing bowl. So this morning, back I went to the store for another gallon of vinegar, another container of mustard seed, more salt, and more jars. ($19.06)

And now, I am the proud owner of

6 quarts of whole dill pickles
8 quarts of dill pickle spears
5 quarts of dill pickle chips
3 12oz jars of dill pickle chips
1 pint of dill pickle chips
and 2 leftover cukes.

I also have a house that smells like a pickle and 3 very happy, pickle lovin' gentlemen who can't wait to crack one of those jars open. And it only cost me $63.26... And to think I could have had a massage for that price.

How much longer can this go on?

2009-07-20T09:13:00.003-04:00

While walking in the neighborhood...

Sebastian: [sings]Yankee doodle went to town, riding on a pony...

Dorian: Hey, Sebastian! I know another way to sing it! Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony/He stuck a feather through his nose, and it came out his bu-utt!

Busy busy busy

2009-07-19T16:40:00.003-04:00

It has been yet another busy weekend around the Hott Pocket house.

Jeremy and I began painting the garage, which I think is looking pretty awesome, but makes the actual house look poopy. We have less than half to go, but I definitely need Jeremy's help to reach the tippy top because I do not want to tip like a top off the ladder. This is not the best picture in the world, but it is the most accurate color-wise.

Yesterday, I was lured by cupcakes to the yarn store which was hosting an event with someone from a local organic wool company. Marin was very nice and very talented and the cupcakes were very delicious. I found myself a little jealous of her and the yarn store owner who both get to knit all day and get paid for it. However, if I were to be paid for knitting, I know one of two things would happen: a) I would immediately lose my inspiration/resent knitting or b) I would develop a horrible case of arthritis. I was also tortured somewhat by the obnoxious truth that there are more projects in the world than I can ever hope to produce. So, to remind me of that I have more yarn in my possession now as we each got to pick 2 skeins to bring home and they are totally mocking me while I slog through the sleeves for the summer sweater. I am staying strong and not working on anything else, even though I just got all this:

The yellow and the 3 skeins of gray are the boys' future sweaters. The multi-colored ball in the middle is a self-striping yarn I found in the clearance bin which is begging to be a pair of mittens for the boys. And the 2 skeins on the right are the 2 freebies I got which are a cotton/wool blend and very plushy and are asking to be made into fingerless mitts/arm warmers/coziness that I think I may keep for myself.

And today, after painting the garage in the morning, I met Christine to see Away We Go at the matinee. I really enjoyed it. It was very funny and I love Maya Rudolph and her character was very Christine who I also love. I do not love John Krasinski, but I thought he did a good job. The first 2 couples they go visit are way over the top and a bit much, but I have to admit that I have met people like that, so it wasn't entirely unrealistic. Overall, it is a good exploration of family and home and life and how even perfect isn't perfect. I highly recommend this one. And I don't care what Jeremy's wheel has to say about it in the future.

Coming to fruition

2009-07-16T14:05:00.002-04:00

Finally, some of my work is paying off. Last night we had a salad that came entirely from our garden. Granted, like some chintzy restaurants, there was only one cherry tomato for each of us, but damn it, I grew those tomatoes. So that was pretty exciting.

And after making some cowboy cookies with Dorian (yum!) I finished the right front of my summer sweater, making a grand total of 3 finished pieces.

And assuming that my plan works out (which, based on recent experience, it will not) I will be going to knitting circle tonight and getting a solid start on the sleeves. I'm hoping this sweater is flattering; I know it is soft and silky, and I know I like the color. But I'll tell you what, for such a simple looking sweater, it has been kind of annoying to knit. I have to note every fucking row on a slip of paper the entire time. There are no stretches of just mindless knitting. I don't like that one bit. This is the second sweater in a row from this book that I have not loved knitting, the other being the orange baby jacket. When Dorian and I were out yesterday, he chose some yarn for sweaters for himself (yellow) and for Sebastian (charcoal gray) which I plan on designing myself for maximum enjoyment.

Plans for some purple UPDATE

2009-07-15T09:06:00.005-04:00

Today is going to be all about purple. Well, maybe not entirely, but my purchases today are going to focus on purple.

First, Dorian and I will be heading to the farmer's market to get some raspberries-- I hope enough to make some jam. Every year we get coupons for the market from WIC, which is the awesomest part of that program. I figure I might as well spend them on things I might not normally buy based on their expense. So, first, we stain ourselves purple with raspberry juice.

Then, we are off to buy a wire brush, a sander, a ladder and some purple paint for the garage.

If I don't finish painting our garage in less than a month, we lose our homeowner's insurance. And if I have to paint a garage I don't even use, I might as well paint it purple, right? (The "poolside blue" on the right is the color for Dustin's room.)

UPDATE: I have been totally betrayed by the purported purveyors of purple today. Not only were there no raspberries at market today as I was promised there would be, but the store where I bought my ladder, etc. no longer sells paint for some reason. Boo to all that!