Oy

My 2 year old son just marched into the room with a 3' pool noodle and the cardboard tube from a roll of wrapping paper.

"This is me shooter gun and this is me sword. I'm going to FIGHT you."

Then he gave me a kiss and went off to fight the swings in the dining room.

I'm just sitting here shaking my head in wonder.

.:.

Homestead Mama is due back tomorrow after 5 days upstate. It has gone surprisingly smoothly. It has bee frigid, snowy and absolutely beautiful outside; not the best weather for playing outside with toddlers. They can handle snow and cold, but add -15 degree wind chill and they are a little cranky.

We spent lots of time in the house, baking cookies and gingerbread. They have painted many pictures at the easel. Pequita is enchanted by the Barbie Holiday watercolor book she got in her stocking (gack) and Monito is totally in love with 'surprise' pictures. I draw a garbage truck or digger on white paper with leftover clear wax crayons from Easter egg dying kits. He then paints over the whole sheet in great sweeping colors bringing to life the mystery picture below. So easy, such a crowd pleaser.

We have spent an embarrassing amount of time in bed, rolling around and tickling, playing airplane, and reading all our myriad stories. They are willing to wallow with me for an hour or more after waking in the morning or from naps. I KNOW this will end soon, so I am reveling in it.

We have had tubbies whenever the mood strikes us, not just. Before bed. Morning tubby has become a favorite, and a couple days ago they mostly spent the whole morning between waking and nap time in the tub, with brief interludes of eating naked in front of the fire. They spend a lot of time in the summer naked, and clearly miss it. Monito is potty training himself reliably as long as he is naked, so this served double duty.

Without the safety net of my wife coming home from work in the cards, it has been fairly refreshing to just get in my groove and deal with being the only mom here 24/7. We've fared well, I think, with a few play dates, a few forays out into the cold but mostly remaining home bound.

I had plans of completing many renovation projects to wow and amaze H-Mama when she returns. Instead, she is going to be amazed by how calm, tidy, and peaceful the house is when she finally gets back.

Contact

Every day at naptime my son drifts off with my hand clutched in his, our fingers laced, pressed against his cheek.

My daughter isn't settled until her cold feet are pressed against my warm skin somewhere on my body.
I love naptime.

2009 year in review

I have a lovely photo mosaic to post soon, but in a nutshell?  2009 is the year of the beloved wife, the children that I love and who challenge me beyond my wildest imagination, and the year of the miscarriage.  I slipped another one in there while I was busy not blogging; nothing says Christmas like diminished embryonic growth.

I really am blessed beyond my wildest imaginations.  We'll see what happens next.  I'm 40, not as adventurous as I used to be and feeling a little beaten down.  The wife is out of town for a week tending to her newly widowed father, the children, somehow sensing my mood/ needs went to sleep by 8:30 (for the first time in months) and the new year is ringing in all askew.  However, I am an eternal optimist - go figure - and it can only go up from here.

Solo

I really want to write a lovely, long, witty post about the first Christmas that the kids have been aware of. It was mostly a very fun day. I am just so overwhelmed and tired. Monday - yesterday! - Homestead Mama's stepmother died as suddenly as one can when one is on the lung transplant list. H-Mama is leaving tomorrow for about a week to stay with her dad 3 hours away, help him through this and start getting things sorted out. I'll stay here at home with the kids and muddle through. I have been thinking up fun activities to entertain them with like night weaning. H-Mama has been the hold out on this, and I not producing much anymore so this seems a PERFECT time to acclimate them to nursing down and upon waking, but not at all during the night. Sounds like fun, eh? Boy, do I know how to have a good time.

I would normally go visit my parents, or friends in Canada with all my free time. However, we have pets that will tie me to the house. (And I haven't managed to renew our passports yet and get them for the kids. Do straight, married parents both have to be present at the post office to get passports for their kids? Talk about a deterrent to foreign travel.)

So maybe I'll have time to blog. Check back soon!

Here Comes the Sun

I am not a morning person. Children have been a rough adjustment for me, as the little buggers tend to wake up early. Even as one of the luckiest parents I know (Monito sleeps until 7ish, Pequita would sleep in until 9 every morning if I let her) I still struggle with mornings.

I now have a wonderful assist in the process of facing the day. Light from the new doors floods up the stairs and welcomes me each day.

The kids love it too - their inner artists are reveling in the perfect light.
Their attention was split before Christmas on their masterpiece and the contractors outside building the deck. They love Roy; Pequita was having an episode (our new, less judgmental word for tantrum) at one point (well, actually at about 5 points) and she sobbed Ruh! Me want Ruh! (Both my kids are having trouble with the 'oy' dipthong. It is quite endearing.)



And the dogs? They like the new platform that we had built for them. They sit out there surveying all their land, watching for prey and postal carriers.



Life is good.

Les Portes Francais

We have intended to have French Doors in our kitchen for, oh, about a decade. And in the last week we went from a wall cluttered with a bookshelf and napkin storage to a large blank wall


to a reminder of how much we love our insulation* (R-7.5 per inch, folks!)



to a big hole in the wall on a 20 degree day



to French Doors installed



The contractor will be back next week to finish the insulating, trim, handle set installation, etc. Also, they'll be building a deck right outside that is the length of the house and projects 8' out onto the grassy patio we had created this past summer. Already the house is lighter, more open and so lovely. As always, each thing we get done inspires more work, but in the good way.

Yes, that is my sewing machine on the kitchen island. I've been Christmas-ing the only way I know how.

*We used sprayed-in rigid foam insulation. It expands to fill every nook and cranny and dries hard which offers the house a lot of structural integrity as well as insulating the crap out of a 150 year old dwelling. I have NO regrets with this product. Our house has drafts but NONE of them are from the walls. (As pretty as it is, our field stone foundation is something that I'd get redone if we win the lottery.)

Ballet

Each night now we read holiday and winter stories at bedtime; in top rotation is a picture book of the Nutcracker ballet story. Pequita's excitement about ballet is ramping up, and we scarcely pass a full length mirror without her busting a move, be it plie', arabesque, or pointed toe leg lift.

I told her that we'll spend Christmas 2010 in Boston at Grandma & Grandpa's house, and that we will all get dressed up and go to see the Boston Ballet dance the Nutcracker. Squeeeeeee! Not only has she planned out her own outfit to the last detail (purple, puffed sleeves, shiny bodice, tulle petticoat, tiny gold not-too-fancy crown) but she has assigned us all colors for our outfits. I am orange (what else?) H-Mama will be in red, and Monito gets a nice backhoe-themed oufit. Not sure how to pull that off as a seamstress.

Big Girl

Pequita woke from her on-the-road car nap and said:

"Mom, back in the old days, I wasn't very tired much. Now, I'm very tired a lot."

Aren't we all, little girl! I told her that its because she used to go to sleep by 7:30 and now she is up until about 10 every night.

"Oh. That's because I'm a big girl now."

I guess she is, if she can refer to the 'old days'.

Saratoga Springs

Homestead Mama is spending her days at a professionally invigorating conference, networking, teaching and learning. I am spending my days hanging out with my parents and kids, taking in the best of what Saratoga has to offer. Coffeehouse breakfasts, walks along a snowy main street liberally coated with holiday decorations and lights, a well-funded and beautifully decorated library, and after naps (with Grandma! Whee!) swimming in the hotel pool.

I am immensely grateful for this window in time to enjoy the bounty of my life.

Needle Felting

I put some finishing touches on the felted balls with a little needle felting.  It is a fairly precise activity; I was watching Fringe, and have the two thumb piercings to prove it.  I am totally pleased with the results, and will definitely make more. 

We'll see if my skills are as good as I think they are - the red guy is not Santa, but is a Tomten or gnome.  Could you tell?

Warmth

I was quite taken with this article. Maybe my wild kids are just COLD, and when they are warmed up they will sit all day peacefully reading books and tracing their hands! The article is definitely on the edge of Waldorf-y preaching, but the concepts are sensible. We keep our house at a toasty 65 degrees day and night, so are big into the layering concept. Except for Pequita who has up to seven wardrobe changes a day, many of which are from one filmy fairy princess dress to another. It is like living with Celine Dion except I am the lackey who trails after the diva picking up the discarded clothes. Next thing I'll be blogging about will be Pequita's request for an all-white nursery with white flowers and 27 new bottles of mineral water imported from France at all times.

I just bought a set of silk long johns for us all, and will have a go at making us woolen ones with my serger, as the cost of outfitting pottty training kids in woolens ($40 per shirt? $50 per pair pants? are they kidding?) is a smidge prohibitive for kids who grow a size every few months.

Anyone who has merino wool or cashmere sweaters with holes, stains, shrunken, or that they just don't like is invited to send them on to me for repurposing. I can offer you a barter - have you seen my felted balls?

Warm Hands, Warm Hearts

Having looked all over for simple wool mittens, I realized that duh, I'm a knitter. On to Ravelry for the classic mitten pattern, and voila*.

Mittens for the kids in the only superwash (machine washable wool) I had on hand. I originally bought the yarn to make a vest for a boyfriend, which indicates how long it has been in my stash. Pequita LOVES them.
They were worsted weight yarn, so a little light for sledding or playing in the snow. Modification is my middle name. So happy was I with the classic mitten pattern, I started knitting a pair of thrummed mittens by making one size up (to accommodate all the fluff inside!) and tufts of roving I had on hand for wool felting. I just HAD to enliven them by striping the wool, which resulted in a teensy bit of irregularity as I figured out tuft size, frequency, etc. The second one will be better! I would be a better knitter if I actually made a prototype to practice patterns and skills, but it isn't in my nature. Hopefully the kids won't notice the little differences.

Here is the first thrummed mitten of the season, awaiting a thumb. They would knit up a lot faster if I could skip the self-admiration after each and every row. This one is awaiting a thumb still, but Pequita was willing to model it.



And this is how it looks inside-out:


They are the perfect play weight, and with the extra wool should keep out wind and keep fingers warm for a long time. I'll let you know!

Enjoying the quick project as much as I do, and wishing to make a few pairs for Homestead Mama and myself, off we went to the local yarn store. Mmmmmmm, Cascade Superwash. Santa knows what I like!



Now if I can just spend the time to figure out how to update my Ravelry account to show some of this activity.

*Elmer's Glue & glitter ornaments. Easy, satisfying for kids and SPARKLY! Draw a shape with the glue & let the kids sprinkle on the glitter. I'd have shown you the green sparkly garbage truck Monito made, but it is already hanging on the tree.

To Blog or To Make Holiday Gifts?

Clearly, gifts have been winning. 

Wet felted balls batch #1.  Homestead Mama's hand for relative size.  Monito refuses to let them out of his site, let alone to be shipped off to other kids.  I may have to rethink letting the kids participate in our gift-giving to others.

I've finished a thrummed mitten, too.  I'll do a mitten rundown tomorrow.

Let Go

I'm not good at letting go of control.  I find it challenging to wait and be patient. 
Anyone care to join me in a deep cleansing breath?

Gingerbread Houses

We did our annual trek to the mega grocery store today to participate in the gingerbread house building class. For $10, the kids each get a base house and all the royal icing and candy they need to decorate it, and I don't have to clean up or to chisel the icing off my kitchen afterward.

We had some friends join us this year and it was a huge success. Monito really shone, wielding the icing bag like a culinary school graduate. I barely had to help him - he actually had some good design ideas. I built him a chimney, and he let me ice & decorate his ice cream cone tree because I was itching to do one of my own, but other than that he worked until his supplies dried up. Pequita, on the other hand, could barely take time off from her candy consumption to bother sticking some to her house.
This gave Auntie Kiko free reign, and together they did a lovely job. We now have 2 hardening houses covered in contraband drying in the pantry behind the baby gate. We'll pick at them for a few days and then they will disappear.

________________________

By the way - the two sites below are chock full of holiday (and year-round) crafty goodness for those of you so inclined.

The Crafty Crow
Gingerbread Snowflakes