Sleep.
It's something that I haven't had a "normal" relationship with for years. It's the bad boyfriend that keeps luring you back with promises of falling asleep easily and waking well-rested. I suffer from insomnia, especially on Sunday nights. And now we can add anxiety to that list, too, nothing like a brain that's worrying to keep a girl up at night.
But last night was my fault....Hubby's traveling for work and I let the kids sweet-talk me into sharing my bed. Yeah.....I've had better ideas in my life, especially on a weeknight. First the little one needed more light, so I left the bathroom door open AND got another nightlight to make him comfortable. Then the big one....man, he is a bed hog. And the little one is a blanket hog and murmurs in his sleep. The final straw was getting the knees and elbows of the big one in the back at 3am, and waking up to him sneezing like crazy. I wandered into their bedroom and got a pillow, and gently transferred the not-quite-awake Will onto the floor with a blanket. Sean woke up too, and I asked him if he wanted to join his brother on the floor. "No I wanna stay in the bed." Of course you do, Darling.
The alarm going off at 6:15am was like an assault to the senses. Usually they like to pop right out of bed, but they suffered through the snooze cycle with me today. Will has no memory of me putting him on the floor and was a bit chagrined. Sean was complaining as we were heading out to the bus stop that he didn't sleep well. My response: "None of us did, Baby. We'll get better sleep tonight."
May tonight bring more sense to this zombie. (Mombie?) It's a late day for us too, with karate. Thank goodness I had the foresight to cook tonight's dinner yesterday--I'm going to be pretty useless tonight but probably will be able to work a microwave. Probably.
Showing posts with label ugh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ugh. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Wanna Get Away?
It's a tradition of ours to go to Pennsylvania to visit Brian's family for Memorial Day Weekend. In our seventeen years together, we only ever missed it once. (Brian went away with some friends for golf in SC) This year, we decided last-minute to stay home, since we're going down twice in June. The idea of not driving 200+ miles one way for a weekend, with kids and gas prices etc etc, it sounded like a good idea. And it was! We didn't do much of anything on Saturday, and it was a nice change of pace with how BUSY things have been lately. We cleaned, we chilled. I got tomatoes planted, as well as zucchini, green beans and cucumbers. All was well. We took the kids back to Six Flags on Sunday and had a VERY chilly day at the waterpark. A pretty good weekend.
Yeah. All good things eventually must end. Sean brought me my cellphone on Monday morning at 7:20am to tell me that it had been ringing. ("It sounds like a haunted house, Mom!" It's actually theme music from the Harry Potter movie) Lo and behold, it's the answering service at work. Their main location had a flood and they didn't have access to all of their phones and needed to have everyone forward their lines to their main number. Yawwwnnnn.....throwing on some clothes to go to the office. Finished in 20 minutes then went home to get a "better" start to the day." Only to have my cell ring again at 1:20 and it's the on-call maintenance guy. Now there's a flood IN MY OFFICE from the toilet in the apartment above. Having just made lunch, I said I'd be there in 20 minutes to check out the damage. Holy crap, the damage. Ceiling tiles destroyed, and everything on top of my filing cabinet was trash: My framed photos of the boys, invoices, work orders.....gone, gone, gone. I'm more frustrated about the work order reports than the photos...I have copies and more frames at home. Those reports take forever to write up!
I spent a big chunk of the rest of the day hoping that there wouldn't be a third call. And there wasn't. I can't decide though....was it better that we were home so I could go over right away instead of walking into this horror show first thing Tuesday morning? I think so....but I'm looking forward to being away at this time next year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
The Holiday Post.
December is always a busy time but this year it went full-tilt. There were a few unpleasantries, but that's the way life is sometimes. There was also my birthday, and then Christmas and ho look at that....New year's is almost here already!
In their natural order, let's talk about my bday first. It was a pretty good day with some dark overtones. We had just found out that my father-in-law was in the hospital and would be having heart surgery, which was originally scheduled for my birthday. It was postponed to the following Monday and went very well. In fact, as I write this he's been home in PA for a few days and is getting stronger every day! Despite Brian's state of mind he still gave me a really great birthday! I got a pedicure at a new place which will be a favorite from now on, we got to enjoy lunch out sans children AND see a movie in theaters that didn't feature cartoons or talking penguins. And he gave me a beautiful new red winter coat. Can't wait to make a scarf to go with it!
Christmas Eve found us at home, him working on the next day's desserts and me wrapping. Wrapping all day. ALLLLL day. Usually I don't mind doing the family gifts on Christmas Eve, this year it was stressful and there was a lot of "What the hell was I thinking??" That and weaving of ends and sewing buttons on Christmas gifts. Hopefully next year will be better for that. We have a tradition of going and looking at people's light displays on Christmas Eve and our town didn't disappoint. They had a contest for residents in the weeks before and published the addresses of the winners. It's a lot more fun when you're guaranteed some pretty displays! After that it was popcorn and a movie until it was time to wake up for Santa the next day. We spent the day at my brother's house, while the older cousins played and I got to snuggle my baby nephew.
Then.....Legoland!!!! We'd given the boys a trip to the new Boston Legoland Discovery Center for Christmas, and they loved it. Everyone had a great time. I took pictures but they're all pretty blurry. That's because the kids were frenzied most of the time they were there...hopped up on plastic building bricks.
We can talk about my knitted Christmas gifts a little later. :)
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Cleaning out My Closet
One of the things that we are attempting to do in order to put this house on the market is to conquer some of this clutter! The situation has gotten bad enough to start working on this Day Zero List Item:
94. clean out my bedroom closet
We have the world's crappiest closet. It was sort of an afterthought for when the previous owner decided to take parts of two bedrooms in our home and turn them into a bathroom. This left a closet that you can enter from either our bedroom or the office, and it's tiny. We've made vast improvements on the space, it used to be watermelon pink and the clothing bars were just JAMMED into the walls. The weight of the clothing pulled the bars down, causing huge tears in the drywall. Who does that??? Let's just say that we've cursed the previous owners a blue streak on more than one occasion. When discussing "wants and needs" for the next house I said that a better bedroom closet was a need. Brian just laughed and said "Could there be something out there that could be worse than what we already have??" Any other closet space pretty much would be trading up.
Once the boys started sharing a room at the beginning of the year, Hubby and I were excited to get a closet to ourselves. Except it's cram-jammed with so much crap, there's no useful space. Neither closet door could close properly, and I finally just got sick of it and declared that it was going to get done TODAY. Well, at least started today.
Here are some of my "fantastic finds" in the effort to purge some of the clutter...
--a black dress that I bought to wear to a wedding five years ago. It was one of those things, I needed a dress FAST and even though I wasn't crazy about this one, I figured it would do. Considering my ambivalent feelings about said dress, why do I still have it five years later??
--A maternity dress that I never wore, which is too bad because it's cute. Keep in mind that I was last preggo three years ago and gave away the rest of my maternity clothes months ago.
--Clean diapers from newborn to toddler. Naturally, they're not in a package or anything, they're just loose and strewn about.
--Eight skeins of yarn in a beautiful rose wool. What a find! This is either going to be a sweater for someone or a baby blanket.
--Birthday/Christmas gifts that never went to the recipient. I found a big package of Crayola Twistables, some cool stickers and a huge activity book. I wonder who that was supposed to go to? I guess I'll never know.
--A large Target bag filled with matchbox cars and two gigantic bags of chocolate MnM's. Any mom worth her salt recognizes this bribery and what it's for: potty training. Again....that's been in there for about three years. It's about time to start potty-training the baby that I was pregnant with that I didn't wear the maternity dress for in item #2!
--Clothes that I forgot that I even had. I'm going to have to remember this one next time I'm bitching that I have nothing to wear.
--Various purses, in several colors, sizes and styles. Some of them are pre-children. I think that if I haven't seen it since 2006, it's probably a safe bet to pass it on to someone who might use it.
I can't wait til this job is done. I was dreading it and now that I'm in the thick of it, I know why!
94. clean out my bedroom closet
We have the world's crappiest closet. It was sort of an afterthought for when the previous owner decided to take parts of two bedrooms in our home and turn them into a bathroom. This left a closet that you can enter from either our bedroom or the office, and it's tiny. We've made vast improvements on the space, it used to be watermelon pink and the clothing bars were just JAMMED into the walls. The weight of the clothing pulled the bars down, causing huge tears in the drywall. Who does that??? Let's just say that we've cursed the previous owners a blue streak on more than one occasion. When discussing "wants and needs" for the next house I said that a better bedroom closet was a need. Brian just laughed and said "Could there be something out there that could be worse than what we already have??" Any other closet space pretty much would be trading up.
Once the boys started sharing a room at the beginning of the year, Hubby and I were excited to get a closet to ourselves. Except it's cram-jammed with so much crap, there's no useful space. Neither closet door could close properly, and I finally just got sick of it and declared that it was going to get done TODAY. Well, at least started today.
Here are some of my "fantastic finds" in the effort to purge some of the clutter...
--a black dress that I bought to wear to a wedding five years ago. It was one of those things, I needed a dress FAST and even though I wasn't crazy about this one, I figured it would do. Considering my ambivalent feelings about said dress, why do I still have it five years later??
--A maternity dress that I never wore, which is too bad because it's cute. Keep in mind that I was last preggo three years ago and gave away the rest of my maternity clothes months ago.
--Clean diapers from newborn to toddler. Naturally, they're not in a package or anything, they're just loose and strewn about.
--Eight skeins of yarn in a beautiful rose wool. What a find! This is either going to be a sweater for someone or a baby blanket.
--Birthday/Christmas gifts that never went to the recipient. I found a big package of Crayola Twistables, some cool stickers and a huge activity book. I wonder who that was supposed to go to? I guess I'll never know.
--A large Target bag filled with matchbox cars and two gigantic bags of chocolate MnM's. Any mom worth her salt recognizes this bribery and what it's for: potty training. Again....that's been in there for about three years. It's about time to start potty-training the baby that I was pregnant with that I didn't wear the maternity dress for in item #2!
--Clothes that I forgot that I even had. I'm going to have to remember this one next time I'm bitching that I have nothing to wear.
--Various purses, in several colors, sizes and styles. Some of them are pre-children. I think that if I haven't seen it since 2006, it's probably a safe bet to pass it on to someone who might use it.
I can't wait til this job is done. I was dreading it and now that I'm in the thick of it, I know why!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Angry Birds
An alternate title would be: Crappy Start to the Day. :)
I went outside on Wednesday morning to load our usual morning stuff into the car. As I got to the car, I froze, then nearly dropped everything that I was carrying. I mouthed silently "What the ____ is going on? Is that bird ___ all over my car???
Yes, its bird crap. The car is covered in bird crap. And by covered, it looks like it was assaulted by a flock of Hellbirds, and my car was the potty break on their road trip. Seriously, it was awful. There are no trees over our driveway, so the birds really did just fly over the car. My neighbor's car and Hubby's car? Untouched.
I had to get Will to school early because it was Field Trip Day so I had no choice but to drive the thing to get the boys where they needed to go. And I had to stop for cash to pay for the car wash. People pointed and laughed everywhere. After the third time I would wave and smile, I mean, if it was anyone else's car I'd probably find it hilarious.
Boys dropped off, cash in hand, I head to the nearest car wash. The attendant let out a low whistle when I pulled up and said "Oh man.....what happened??" You know it's bad when the sight of your filthy car surprises the guy that washes cars for a living.
One quick trip through and my Journey is squeaky clean again. And I will likely never forget the rotten morning. However, some people say that if a bird poos on you it's good luck. If that is true, my car is the luckiest car on the planet!
I went outside on Wednesday morning to load our usual morning stuff into the car. As I got to the car, I froze, then nearly dropped everything that I was carrying. I mouthed silently "What the ____ is going on? Is that bird ___ all over my car???
Yes, its bird crap. The car is covered in bird crap. And by covered, it looks like it was assaulted by a flock of Hellbirds, and my car was the potty break on their road trip. Seriously, it was awful. There are no trees over our driveway, so the birds really did just fly over the car. My neighbor's car and Hubby's car? Untouched.
I had to get Will to school early because it was Field Trip Day so I had no choice but to drive the thing to get the boys where they needed to go. And I had to stop for cash to pay for the car wash. People pointed and laughed everywhere. After the third time I would wave and smile, I mean, if it was anyone else's car I'd probably find it hilarious.
Boys dropped off, cash in hand, I head to the nearest car wash. The attendant let out a low whistle when I pulled up and said "Oh man.....what happened??" You know it's bad when the sight of your filthy car surprises the guy that washes cars for a living.
One quick trip through and my Journey is squeaky clean again. And I will likely never forget the rotten morning. However, some people say that if a bird poos on you it's good luck. If that is true, my car is the luckiest car on the planet!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Same Old Song.
In reference to the last blog:
1. Leaky toilet may have caused damage to the bath floor, or subfloor, I should say. There are two doors to the bathroom, and one is a real pain to open and close because of the swollen floor. Hoping as it dries out over the next couple of weeks the floor will stop swelling and go back to it's regular size. If not, well....things are really going to suck. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it's going to involve ripping up the flooring and (GULP!) cutting into one of our bedroom walls to get at the subfloor and replace it. Seems like a good time to start re-doing the bathroom like we wanted, right? No. No time. And no money for new fixtures and painting, replacing the ceiling tiles and all that jazz. Cross your appendages please, dry floor=no destruction of the bathroom and bedroom!
2. Car continues to overheat. It appears to only do it when driving around town and not on the highway. No lights are coming on the dash or anything, the thermostat is just hotter than normal. Brian found a blown fuse, replaced it and it blew again. Not good. Not looking forward to the call from the mechanic today.
3. Zyliss chopper replaced! After kindergarten screening yesterday Will and I took a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to get Daddy a little something for Father's day, and I replaced the chopper for $15.
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Wow, that is a lot of crap to deal with in the past week. To balance it a little bit, how about I tell you three things that I'm grateful for?
A. Ran out of yarn while working on my friend Tracy's grandaughter's sweater for her first birthday. (NO, that's not the good thing.) It was a hand-dyed wool that I bought two years ago at Webs that I've had kicking in my stash. It's gorgeous, pinks, purples oranges and yellows, reminds me of a sunset. I got to the armholes and ran out. Luckily, I scoured the internet and found another hank of it on Ebay. It came yesterday and unfortunately is more yellow-orange than the previous two hanks which were more purple-pink. But I can cut it and use what I need and save the rest for mittens that I knit for charity.
B. I have a sweet husband who brings a cup of coffee to me every morning while I am in the shower. He knows that I have a rough times with mornings and has caffeine at the ready. Coffee=love.
C. Will and I came up with a really great Father's Day gift yesterday. I can't wait til Sunday! Will has also proven that he can keep a secret, I'm pretty proud of him.
So there you have it. The House of Crafty Mama is experiencing some troubles, but I can still find things to be grateful for. Not that I had any doubts. :)
1. Leaky toilet may have caused damage to the bath floor, or subfloor, I should say. There are two doors to the bathroom, and one is a real pain to open and close because of the swollen floor. Hoping as it dries out over the next couple of weeks the floor will stop swelling and go back to it's regular size. If not, well....things are really going to suck. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it's going to involve ripping up the flooring and (GULP!) cutting into one of our bedroom walls to get at the subfloor and replace it. Seems like a good time to start re-doing the bathroom like we wanted, right? No. No time. And no money for new fixtures and painting, replacing the ceiling tiles and all that jazz. Cross your appendages please, dry floor=no destruction of the bathroom and bedroom!
2. Car continues to overheat. It appears to only do it when driving around town and not on the highway. No lights are coming on the dash or anything, the thermostat is just hotter than normal. Brian found a blown fuse, replaced it and it blew again. Not good. Not looking forward to the call from the mechanic today.
3. Zyliss chopper replaced! After kindergarten screening yesterday Will and I took a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to get Daddy a little something for Father's day, and I replaced the chopper for $15.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, that is a lot of crap to deal with in the past week. To balance it a little bit, how about I tell you three things that I'm grateful for?
A. Ran out of yarn while working on my friend Tracy's grandaughter's sweater for her first birthday. (NO, that's not the good thing.) It was a hand-dyed wool that I bought two years ago at Webs that I've had kicking in my stash. It's gorgeous, pinks, purples oranges and yellows, reminds me of a sunset. I got to the armholes and ran out. Luckily, I scoured the internet and found another hank of it on Ebay. It came yesterday and unfortunately is more yellow-orange than the previous two hanks which were more purple-pink. But I can cut it and use what I need and save the rest for mittens that I knit for charity.
B. I have a sweet husband who brings a cup of coffee to me every morning while I am in the shower. He knows that I have a rough times with mornings and has caffeine at the ready. Coffee=love.
C. Will and I came up with a really great Father's Day gift yesterday. I can't wait til Sunday! Will has also proven that he can keep a secret, I'm pretty proud of him.
So there you have it. The House of Crafty Mama is experiencing some troubles, but I can still find things to be grateful for. Not that I had any doubts. :)
Monday, March 26, 2012
Good Practice
I'm back at it, working on what I *hope* to be my first finished sweater for myself. I say finished, because I never finished my Ditto. Around the holidays, I screwed up the ribbing a third time and the entire top needs to be ripped out. Avoidance is my way of dealing with that....so it's in a bag in my living room where it occasionally gets a peek and a reassuring pat that "Someday honey, you'll be a sweater." Sigh.
I picked out a Spring Cardigan that's a very simple design, and ordered some cotton-silky blend from Knitpicks. It's a raglan style sweater, which I've never done before. I like the fact that there's no seaming at the end, anyone that says that they like finishwork at the end of a knitting project is either a sadist or lying. :)
Anyhow, I've frogged twice so far, and I'm just too tired tonight to cast on again. I apparently have issues when it comes to following two sets of instructions at once. Trying to remember to increase stitches in the middle every other row, and one stitch on either end every fourth row isn't easy. (This is exactly why I had trouble with piano lessons as a kid...the right and left hand doing different things...tricky!) Only a little cursing the second time, so I have that to be happy about.
The first time this happened, Will was in the room. He's having a tough time with everything having to be "perfect," especially when it comes to drawing. He loves to draw, but if he "messes up" he gets angry at himself. Daddy and I told him that since he enjoys drawing, what matters is that he's having fun. And if you have to draw it again, then what's that? More drawing! So....the first time I was frogging the sweater (ripping it back and turning it back into a ball of yarn for those of you not "in the know") I was all "look! I get to knit it again!" He was sleeping tonight and though Hubby suggested gently a repeat knit, I was more like "Look! I screwed it all up again!" :P But now we'll just go ahead and say "Wow, good practice! You're going to knit a kickass raglan someday!
Meanwhile, I'm petting my nineteen other skeins of wisteria colored cotton blend and whispering "Shhh....you'll be a sweater someday Honey. And you're gonna be gorgeous!"
I picked out a Spring Cardigan that's a very simple design, and ordered some cotton-silky blend from Knitpicks. It's a raglan style sweater, which I've never done before. I like the fact that there's no seaming at the end, anyone that says that they like finishwork at the end of a knitting project is either a sadist or lying. :)
Anyhow, I've frogged twice so far, and I'm just too tired tonight to cast on again. I apparently have issues when it comes to following two sets of instructions at once. Trying to remember to increase stitches in the middle every other row, and one stitch on either end every fourth row isn't easy. (This is exactly why I had trouble with piano lessons as a kid...the right and left hand doing different things...tricky!) Only a little cursing the second time, so I have that to be happy about.
The first time this happened, Will was in the room. He's having a tough time with everything having to be "perfect," especially when it comes to drawing. He loves to draw, but if he "messes up" he gets angry at himself. Daddy and I told him that since he enjoys drawing, what matters is that he's having fun. And if you have to draw it again, then what's that? More drawing! So....the first time I was frogging the sweater (ripping it back and turning it back into a ball of yarn for those of you not "in the know") I was all "look! I get to knit it again!" He was sleeping tonight and though Hubby suggested gently a repeat knit, I was more like "Look! I screwed it all up again!" :P But now we'll just go ahead and say "Wow, good practice! You're going to knit a kickass raglan someday!
Meanwhile, I'm petting my nineteen other skeins of wisteria colored cotton blend and whispering "Shhh....you'll be a sweater someday Honey. And you're gonna be gorgeous!"
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Family that's Sick Together, Sticks Together
There's been lingering colds in our home already this season, and it's not limiting in the number of times one of us can get it, either. Two of us are affected currently: me and Sean. Sick of the sickies already, and it's not quite mid-December. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come!
Sean and Will, do Mom and Dad a favor: when germs want to come home with you, say NO! :)
Sean and Will, do Mom and Dad a favor: when germs want to come home with you, say NO! :)
Friday, November 11, 2011
The 2011 Attack of Big Bertha
If you know me at all, you know that I'm a bugophobe. Just one big bug is enough to give me a case of heebie jeebies so bad, it's practically paralyzing. (And if they bring a few friends, it might as well be the Apocalypse.) I'm not proud of this. I'm not proud of the fact that a big ol' bug is enough to send me screaming in the other direction. (no exaggeration. Remember the big bug in my room above the bed in Moore Hall, Shannon??)
Anyway...back to not being proud of this fact. Nothing terrifies me as much as a gigantic bug. (Gigantic--bigger than a quarter) It doesn't matter if it's harmless. A bug, is a bug is a bug. So imagine my dismay when I was home with the boys this morning and I headed into the bathroom, and there was a big centipede lookin' thing chillin' in my bathroom sink. He (or she, doesn't matter) was bigger than the drain opening. Once I glimpsed Big Bertha (yeah, I'm making it a she) I couldn't even WALK into the bathroom. If Big Bertha had graced me with her presence whilst in the shower, I would have jumped out screaming, mid-shampoo. I texted Hubby about the bug, and sent him a photo. (I'm pretty sure this is one of the things that he just adores about me!) He writes back to send Will in there with a magazine to kill it, and to flush it down the toilet. Yeah Right.
I approach Will, and I explain to him about Mommy's ridiculous fear about bugs and ask him how he feels about killing Big Bertha. He gives me a wary eye and says "Ok, I'll help." This is the low I've sunk to....enlisting my five-year old to help dispose of a bug that I can't even go into the bathroom to see fully. He suggests a big cup of very hot water. I think....well, I could do that. So we fill a coffee can with hot water, and I bring it into the bathroom. When it comes time, though, I can't bring myself to do it. What if I just piss off this thing and it comes out to give me a piece of her mind? Then I remember......cleaning supplies! Ooh Clorox Clean-up. I go in there, trigger poised. Aaah! I spray and run, slamming the door behind me. Will, "Is it dead, Mom? Are you ok?" Ten minutes go by.....and I check. Bertha's busted. Only now I can't bring myself to dispose of her.
So I've closed the door and left it for Brian to deal with. Yes, I'm well aware that I'm a total wimp and you may judge if you must. Will though, surprised me with a hug and an "I love you, Mom." I'm a wimp, but a wimp with my family's love and support. :)
Anyway...back to not being proud of this fact. Nothing terrifies me as much as a gigantic bug. (Gigantic--bigger than a quarter) It doesn't matter if it's harmless. A bug, is a bug is a bug. So imagine my dismay when I was home with the boys this morning and I headed into the bathroom, and there was a big centipede lookin' thing chillin' in my bathroom sink. He (or she, doesn't matter) was bigger than the drain opening. Once I glimpsed Big Bertha (yeah, I'm making it a she) I couldn't even WALK into the bathroom. If Big Bertha had graced me with her presence whilst in the shower, I would have jumped out screaming, mid-shampoo. I texted Hubby about the bug, and sent him a photo. (I'm pretty sure this is one of the things that he just adores about me!) He writes back to send Will in there with a magazine to kill it, and to flush it down the toilet. Yeah Right.
I approach Will, and I explain to him about Mommy's ridiculous fear about bugs and ask him how he feels about killing Big Bertha. He gives me a wary eye and says "Ok, I'll help." This is the low I've sunk to....enlisting my five-year old to help dispose of a bug that I can't even go into the bathroom to see fully. He suggests a big cup of very hot water. I think....well, I could do that. So we fill a coffee can with hot water, and I bring it into the bathroom. When it comes time, though, I can't bring myself to do it. What if I just piss off this thing and it comes out to give me a piece of her mind? Then I remember......cleaning supplies! Ooh Clorox Clean-up. I go in there, trigger poised. Aaah! I spray and run, slamming the door behind me. Will, "Is it dead, Mom? Are you ok?" Ten minutes go by.....and I check. Bertha's busted. Only now I can't bring myself to dispose of her.
So I've closed the door and left it for Brian to deal with. Yes, I'm well aware that I'm a total wimp and you may judge if you must. Will though, surprised me with a hug and an "I love you, Mom." I'm a wimp, but a wimp with my family's love and support. :)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Crazy.
Brian's singing Christmas carols in the kitchen the other morning. Usually I give him a hard time about bringing them so early. This year though, I was temporarily confused by what time of the year it is, exactly. There was ten inches of snow (luckily it only accumulated about five inches) and it was coldcoldcold. There is a chill in the air tonight outside, and the air smells like Christmas. Fresh. Cold.
Many people in Central MA are without power, and it's looking like it may be a few days before they get it, too. No daycare for the past two days, and many schools closed. Halloween was pushed back because of a snow day! How many times in your life can you say that? We've been fortunate, with only losing the power for a few hours overnight. And we've been fortunate to be able to offer a place for friends and family to warm up, shower, eat some hot food, etc.
Halloween was pretty understated this year. Our town didn't postpone Trick-or-Treating, though most of the surrounding ones postponed until later in the week. Some towns CANCELLED it. (that's sad.) We took our little Pirate boys to the local mall where there was an event going on. Then, since Daddy had school, we stayed home and handed out candy to all the kids that came to our door. Will enjoyed handing it out to all the kids, except when they were wearing scary masks. Then it was "mommy, you do it!"
Sure hope for things to get back to normal soon. If this is what Mother Nature has in store for the winter, it's going to be a long one.
Many people in Central MA are without power, and it's looking like it may be a few days before they get it, too. No daycare for the past two days, and many schools closed. Halloween was pushed back because of a snow day! How many times in your life can you say that? We've been fortunate, with only losing the power for a few hours overnight. And we've been fortunate to be able to offer a place for friends and family to warm up, shower, eat some hot food, etc.
Halloween was pretty understated this year. Our town didn't postpone Trick-or-Treating, though most of the surrounding ones postponed until later in the week. Some towns CANCELLED it. (that's sad.) We took our little Pirate boys to the local mall where there was an event going on. Then, since Daddy had school, we stayed home and handed out candy to all the kids that came to our door. Will enjoyed handing it out to all the kids, except when they were wearing scary masks. Then it was "mommy, you do it!"
Sure hope for things to get back to normal soon. If this is what Mother Nature has in store for the winter, it's going to be a long one.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Abracadabra! Sleeves.
I've gotten pretty far on the Ditto. I wrapped up the bottom half of the sweater, and tonight I finished the sleeves. For starting on June 6th, this is going at lightning speed!
The bottom half of the cardigan body, with two sleeves on holders above.
It's been a ridiculously stressful couple of weeks with a lot of things going on that aren't exactly blog-friendly. I've been happy to have this sweater to work on at night while watching The Big Bang Theory. Which, by the way, wasn't a show that I expected to enjoy. But I really do, and so does Brian. He gets more of the geeky references than I do, but it is extremely well-written and the characters are hilarious.
And with the finishing of the sleeves....I am going to put this sweater in hibernation for a short while. This is for two reasons: 1. the next step is making a yoke and attaching the sleeves somehow. I haven't quite wrapped my head around just how to do that yet....so I'm mulling it. and 2. I need to crank out some baby gifts! I have several things picked out and well, babies come on a deadline. Not a hard and fast deadline per se, but in the general vicinity of three in mid-to-late Autumn.
p.s. do you want to hear something kind of sick? I've already chosen my next sweater! It's called Radiate and it's a longer-sleeve cardigan made out of cotton instead of wool. Even sicker: I have the yarn in the house, ten skeins of Cotton Ease in charcoal. Now, I didn't buy it for this sweater in particular. I bought it last summer for a different pattern that I decided against last minute. Every knitter (and crocheter too) is always dreaming about their next project. This one however....not until after the holidays. I'm sick, but not that sick!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Super-Soaker
Brian's taking an intensive 6-week class for his Master's Degree, and this is week three. So I've been picking up the boys on Tuesday and Thursday nights. It's quite a feat, considering I get out of work at five and both boys need to be picked up by 5:30. Tonight's pickup was quite rainy...when I got to Will's school the sky just OPENED up and sheets of water ran down over me and my white and pink sweater. With last week's tornadoes in Massachusetts, every time there's a thunderstorm Will gets anxious that another tornado is coming. It's going to be a long summer....I wasn't crazy about driving in it tonight but I put on my game face and we made it a fun race to the car.
By the time we got home I was already sick of being wet. To shake off a bit of the "scaredies" I offered up dinner picnic-style in the living room, picnic blanket on the carpet and all. And to sweeten the deal, there was a new "Phineas and Ferb" DVD waiting for us. I love that show on the Disney Channel, perhaps almost as much as Will does. It's educational, it's entertaining and there's LOTS of little adult asides that go right over the kids' heads. (Like when the boys parody every cop/detective TV show in one of their episodes. The CSI Miami reference was the funniest one!) Both kids went to bed happy and had a good time, forgetting about the thunder, lightning and buckets o' rain. And neither child put up a fight and just went to sleep with no trouble.
That's what I call a perfect night.
By the time we got home I was already sick of being wet. To shake off a bit of the "scaredies" I offered up dinner picnic-style in the living room, picnic blanket on the carpet and all. And to sweeten the deal, there was a new "Phineas and Ferb" DVD waiting for us. I love that show on the Disney Channel, perhaps almost as much as Will does. It's educational, it's entertaining and there's LOTS of little adult asides that go right over the kids' heads. (Like when the boys parody every cop/detective TV show in one of their episodes. The CSI Miami reference was the funniest one!) Both kids went to bed happy and had a good time, forgetting about the thunder, lightning and buckets o' rain. And neither child put up a fight and just went to sleep with no trouble.
That's what I call a perfect night.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
In Search of Balance
Some days you have wins and losses.
Today's tally...
Grabbed an orange for a snack at work. As soon as I touched it it squashed like a bug. Apparently it had "some" mold issues. Loss.
Found a camisole that I love shoved in the back of my sock drawer. I stashed it there because it had a broken strap. With no time to find the sewing kit, I stapled it back together and then threw it on with my sweater. It held all day and never snagged. Win!
Managed to make it up to the pharmacy counter with just milk after going through the "Spring Sale" cosmetics. Win.
Discovering, with a sickening feeling, that my debit card was not in my wallet. Loss. Paying for my prescription and a gallon of milk with my credit card. Loss. Staying calm while trying to remember where I last used my card. Win. Triumphantly remembering that it was in my pants pocket at knitting last night. Win! Rushing home to look for the pants, only to find out that they're in the wash. And that I've put my debit card through the wash cycle as well. Loss. Loss. Going back out to get cash to pay the sitter tomorrow, with hubby insisting to take his card too, so I don't have to make a third trip. Loss. Card working and ATM transaction smoothly made. Win.
Both Will and Sean rushing to the door, excited to see me when I get home from the bank. Will wanting hugs and to snuggle on the couch with me. Sean dive-bombing in my lap saying "Mommommommommom" over and over. DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!!! Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner. :)
Today's tally...
Grabbed an orange for a snack at work. As soon as I touched it it squashed like a bug. Apparently it had "some" mold issues. Loss.
Found a camisole that I love shoved in the back of my sock drawer. I stashed it there because it had a broken strap. With no time to find the sewing kit, I stapled it back together and then threw it on with my sweater. It held all day and never snagged. Win!
Managed to make it up to the pharmacy counter with just milk after going through the "Spring Sale" cosmetics. Win.
Discovering, with a sickening feeling, that my debit card was not in my wallet. Loss. Paying for my prescription and a gallon of milk with my credit card. Loss. Staying calm while trying to remember where I last used my card. Win. Triumphantly remembering that it was in my pants pocket at knitting last night. Win! Rushing home to look for the pants, only to find out that they're in the wash. And that I've put my debit card through the wash cycle as well. Loss. Loss. Going back out to get cash to pay the sitter tomorrow, with hubby insisting to take his card too, so I don't have to make a third trip. Loss. Card working and ATM transaction smoothly made. Win.
Both Will and Sean rushing to the door, excited to see me when I get home from the bank. Will wanting hugs and to snuggle on the couch with me. Sean dive-bombing in my lap saying "Mommommommommom" over and over. DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!!! Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner. :)
Friday, February 11, 2011
It's The Weekend!!!!!
Things to be happy about this weekend:
Will's pinkeye is almost totally cleared up. It hasn't been fun, doing eyedrops. Also, he got something completely unrelated and spiked a fever three days this week. It's been fun. BUT he did get to come to work with Mommy for half a day on Tuesday, and spend two days hanging out with his Papa. He thinks his Mama has a cool job and had a great time one-on-one with Papa. :)
I'm getting my hair done tomorrow. I really go too far in-between cuts and colors, so I always feel like a shaggy dog, especially in the week leading up to the appointment. But oh well, I'm over it. Tomorrow it'll be all nice and puuurty. :)
I have three projects on the needles, and two of them are near completion. Will's sweater just need to have a sleeve finished and then sew it together. Something tells me that I'm going to finish the sleeve, then get intimidated by the sewing and put it away for awhile. C'mon, I can do it! I can make this sweater happen before it starts to get warm and no sweater is needed. (Yeah right, not anytime soon)
We're taking a trip to IKEA on Sunday! Love that place. We used them to re-do our kitchen a few years ago and we've been smitten ever since.
Happy weekend, everyone! :)
Will's pinkeye is almost totally cleared up. It hasn't been fun, doing eyedrops. Also, he got something completely unrelated and spiked a fever three days this week. It's been fun. BUT he did get to come to work with Mommy for half a day on Tuesday, and spend two days hanging out with his Papa. He thinks his Mama has a cool job and had a great time one-on-one with Papa. :)
I'm getting my hair done tomorrow. I really go too far in-between cuts and colors, so I always feel like a shaggy dog, especially in the week leading up to the appointment. But oh well, I'm over it. Tomorrow it'll be all nice and puuurty. :)
I have three projects on the needles, and two of them are near completion. Will's sweater just need to have a sleeve finished and then sew it together. Something tells me that I'm going to finish the sleeve, then get intimidated by the sewing and put it away for awhile. C'mon, I can do it! I can make this sweater happen before it starts to get warm and no sweater is needed. (Yeah right, not anytime soon)
We're taking a trip to IKEA on Sunday! Love that place. We used them to re-do our kitchen a few years ago and we've been smitten ever since.
Happy weekend, everyone! :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Seriously?? More Snow??
OK, beating the "midwinter blues" as a title for my last blog post may have been a bit preemptive. The weather report says with the snow coming on Wednesday, we can expect another 20-25 inches in our area. Alrighty then....five foot snowbanks in front of the house already! Where to put it, where to put it.... Everyone around us is kvetching....the winter blues around here are getting kind of claustrophobic and contagious. We're doing our best to avoid it, though.
I told Will that I wanted to take a picture of him standing next to one and send it to my friend Heather who moved to Florida in June. (Pretty freakin' smart if you ask me!!) He said "How about we take a picture of me IN the snowbank, Mommy?" I'd try it, but I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to get out! :)
Even Joey is peeved with all this snow....poor pup needs to learn how to use the potty. Maybe Will can teach him! (How's that for positive?)
I told Will that I wanted to take a picture of him standing next to one and send it to my friend Heather who moved to Florida in June. (Pretty freakin' smart if you ask me!!) He said "How about we take a picture of me IN the snowbank, Mommy?" I'd try it, but I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to get out! :)
Even Joey is peeved with all this snow....poor pup needs to learn how to use the potty. Maybe Will can teach him! (How's that for positive?)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Violated
We've given an informal nickname to the Little One...."The Destroyer." He is our curious wild child, the one that wants to know what is in EVERY drawer, under everything, how the dishwasher works and is constantly set out to prove that no matter how much, we cannot vacuum enough. Childproofing was invented because of him and nothing is safe, sacred or left untouched. We of course, took great care in childproofing our home for both children, but the Big One didn't challenge it quite as much. So with The Destroyer, you must always have a watchful eye.
On our way home from PA yesterday, Sean informed us consistently that he is not a fan of long drives. Mostly by screeching his displeasure, he screamed between naps. Every time he fell asleep was a welcome reprieve. Not surprisingly, he disliked the drive home more than the drive there. Poor buddy, I don't like driving home either. Somewhere between the MA and CT borders, I handed him my scarf to play with, which usually brings a smile. And it did not disappoint, our Little One was quiet and played with my scarf for a bit, bringing some peace to our vehicle.
Unfortunately, when I got the scarf back, it was my turn to shed some tears. For the beautiful lace that I had created, from yarn purchased while on vacation in Wisconsin, has been disfigured. Huge strings of yarn have been yanked, by a curious baby who liked the texture of my work. Although I was sad, I wasn't angry because I have no one to blame but myself for giving it to him. The scarf is still wearable, as the cool calculation of The Destroyer caused him to pull from the exact center of the scarf. If I angle properly, the pulls are hidden by my hair and no one can see it. But *I* know it's there....
Luckily, this violation was discovered in the parking lot of my absolute favorite yarn store. A nice big skein of Araucania wool/silk blend purchased in a magenta/purple colorway, I vow to rebuild. :)
On our way home from PA yesterday, Sean informed us consistently that he is not a fan of long drives. Mostly by screeching his displeasure, he screamed between naps. Every time he fell asleep was a welcome reprieve. Not surprisingly, he disliked the drive home more than the drive there. Poor buddy, I don't like driving home either. Somewhere between the MA and CT borders, I handed him my scarf to play with, which usually brings a smile. And it did not disappoint, our Little One was quiet and played with my scarf for a bit, bringing some peace to our vehicle.
Unfortunately, when I got the scarf back, it was my turn to shed some tears. For the beautiful lace that I had created, from yarn purchased while on vacation in Wisconsin, has been disfigured. Huge strings of yarn have been yanked, by a curious baby who liked the texture of my work. Although I was sad, I wasn't angry because I have no one to blame but myself for giving it to him. The scarf is still wearable, as the cool calculation of The Destroyer caused him to pull from the exact center of the scarf. If I angle properly, the pulls are hidden by my hair and no one can see it. But *I* know it's there....
Luckily, this violation was discovered in the parking lot of my absolute favorite yarn store. A nice big skein of Araucania wool/silk blend purchased in a magenta/purple colorway, I vow to rebuild. :)
Time for Tea
We're back from a great looong weekend in Philly. The boys loved seeing their Grandmom and Grandpop, and meeting lots of people at Thanksgiving on Saturday. (note: Hubby's family has always celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday....it's something that his grandmother started many years ago so you didn't have to choose who you'd spend Thursday with. Now we'll continue it to honor her memory. It's a very large family, with 53 people at dinner this year! Since that's more people than anyone's house can hold, we rent a church hall and everything's paper and plastic, 'cause nobody wants to do THOSE holiday dishes!) Will enjoyed playing with cousins and Sean loved that he could crawl in wide open spaces.
On Sunday, we drove to Lansdowne (about thirty minutes away) to visit with some old friends, Scott and Jen. (Oh my, another Scott and Jen!) This time it's Scott that's Brian's friend from HS and his wife Jen, and they have two girls, M and K. (not their real names, obviously. But what a timesaver...) We had a lovely lunch on Sunday with grilled bacon, cheese and veggie sandwiches and squash and apple soup. (I asked for the soup recipe, it is definitely Blue Plate material!) After lunch we went into their "adult" living room to talk some more. Adult, as in, there are no toys, no television with Dora the Explorer blaring, just furniture, books and a fireplace. Wow! I didn't know you could do that! :) After some more catching up, Jen asked if we would like some pumpkin cake and tea. Mmmm....pumpkin cake.
I had mentioned earlier in the conversation about Brian and I trying out tea at night, so at least there's something after dinner instead of ice cream. Tea is a funny thing for me, I usually only like it when I'm sick. After all, nothing feels better like tea and honey when you have a sore throat. But I've been trying out different kinds and looking for something that I really like. Then Jen said something interesting, "what I really like is the ritual of tea." And right there in their living room, I finally got it. Sitting in my chair, at a table with friends, children playing happily in the other "kid" living room, drinking Chai tea, inhaling the spices, I started to relax. My shoulders dropped from around my ears and loosened up. I finally understand, tea drinkers! Yes, some of you drink it as your morning beverage, but I understand it as a ritual. It's very calming. One of my favorite blogs, The Yarn Harlot, wrote this post about her tea drinking and what it does for her sanity.
So today, around 3pm, I'm going to briefly ignore the fact that I have financial reports to tend to, waiting list letters to mail and recertification packets to put together. I'm going to put off the complaining tenants bickering about each other making noise. I'm going to sidestep the conversation with the woman who thinks it's OK to caulk her windows shut. (don't ask!) I'm going to go into the kitchen, make a cup of tea and sit at my desk for even two minutes and enjoy my tea. And I hope I'll feel like a better person for it. I know that's a lot to expect from a cup of tea, but if done regularly I think it's up to the challenge.
On Sunday, we drove to Lansdowne (about thirty minutes away) to visit with some old friends, Scott and Jen. (Oh my, another Scott and Jen!) This time it's Scott that's Brian's friend from HS and his wife Jen, and they have two girls, M and K. (not their real names, obviously. But what a timesaver...) We had a lovely lunch on Sunday with grilled bacon, cheese and veggie sandwiches and squash and apple soup. (I asked for the soup recipe, it is definitely Blue Plate material!) After lunch we went into their "adult" living room to talk some more. Adult, as in, there are no toys, no television with Dora the Explorer blaring, just furniture, books and a fireplace. Wow! I didn't know you could do that! :) After some more catching up, Jen asked if we would like some pumpkin cake and tea. Mmmm....pumpkin cake.
I had mentioned earlier in the conversation about Brian and I trying out tea at night, so at least there's something after dinner instead of ice cream. Tea is a funny thing for me, I usually only like it when I'm sick. After all, nothing feels better like tea and honey when you have a sore throat. But I've been trying out different kinds and looking for something that I really like. Then Jen said something interesting, "what I really like is the ritual of tea." And right there in their living room, I finally got it. Sitting in my chair, at a table with friends, children playing happily in the other "kid" living room, drinking Chai tea, inhaling the spices, I started to relax. My shoulders dropped from around my ears and loosened up. I finally understand, tea drinkers! Yes, some of you drink it as your morning beverage, but I understand it as a ritual. It's very calming. One of my favorite blogs, The Yarn Harlot, wrote this post about her tea drinking and what it does for her sanity.
So today, around 3pm, I'm going to briefly ignore the fact that I have financial reports to tend to, waiting list letters to mail and recertification packets to put together. I'm going to put off the complaining tenants bickering about each other making noise. I'm going to sidestep the conversation with the woman who thinks it's OK to caulk her windows shut. (don't ask!) I'm going to go into the kitchen, make a cup of tea and sit at my desk for even two minutes and enjoy my tea. And I hope I'll feel like a better person for it. I know that's a lot to expect from a cup of tea, but if done regularly I think it's up to the challenge.
Friday, November 12, 2010
An Occasional Lesson
Meet my latest project: I don't believe the recipient reads my blog so I can show it off. This is a hooded baby blanket for a baby shower that I'm going to in December. The yarn is Lionbrand's Nature's Choice Organic Cotton, in a colorway called Curaco. I bought it in New York at the actual Lionbrand store, where it cost $5/skein. The pattern called for three skeins so that is what I bought.
Gahhhhh! Now the yarn is $8/skein, and the kicker is, it's an additional $4.10 to have it shipped. One skein of yarn is going to set me back another $12. But what can I do? I'm over a barrel and need the yarn to finish the blanket.
Today's repeat lesson: If the pattern calls for three skeins, BUY FOUR. (hanging head in shame.)
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