Things Heard Around Here

Get arms, get set, go!

Translation:
While saying this Kellyn crouches into a toddler's version of the runner's stance, and takes off on go.  I'm not quite sure why she says "arms" instead of "mark".  It's pretty funny hearing her repeat this and run all over the house.

Snip, Snip

I was warned after Kellyn's haircut that it might be a good idea to keep all scissors out of reach since she enjoyed the experience so much.  I thought I had...

Saturday morning I took a shower.  As usual I could hear Kellyn outside of the bathroom door rummaging through the vanity drawers.  She only has access to a few of them and she likes to check out the ear thermometer, comb and an egg timer that are stored inside.  I didn't think anything more of it until I stepped out of the shower and opened the door.  Instead of seeing paraphernalia from the drawer scattered on the bathroom floor I saw nothing.  While trying to process why my daughter had actually cleaned up after herself, Kellyn came walking into my bedroom holding a pair of scissors we keep stashed in the back of the drawer to trim hair.  I was horrified as I took the scissors away from her.  I quickly checked her over for blood and then looked at her hair.  She hadn't used the scissors on herself.  I asked her what she had cut.  Kellyn quickly turned around and headed to the end table by the sofa where my latest knitting project was left.

Kellyn discovered the purely magical properties of scissors and snipped into my skein of yarn.  Not just one snip, she annihilated the yarn (or the cute caterpillar as she usually refers to it while giving it a hug).  I couldn't be mad at her, she didn't know what she did was wrong.  She was quite proud of her handiwork and it could have been much worse.

The picture does not do it justice, but there is no saving that skein of yarn.

I'm pretty sure the rest of the scissors are out of reach...

Things Heard Around Here

Aric: I saw a movie at church.

Me: You did?  What movie?

Aric: The one with the head stuck in the hole.

Me: A head was stuck in a hole?

Aric: Yes, the cucumber's head was stuck in the hole.

Me: (Sighing with relief as I realize my three year old is not watching horror movies at church) Oh, you were watching Veggie Tales.

Of course, I still have no idea which Veggie Tale movie he was watching.

Out of Gas

Last Friday I ran out of gas, literally, for the first time ever in my 32 years.  I'm not proud of it, normally I have quite a bit of common sense. which I usually listen to. On Friday I ignored it.  And that is how we found ourselves on the side of the interstate a mile west of the service station.  Yes, thankfully, or embarrassingly, I ran out of gas right after I passed a service station.

My dear, sweet husband, who we just picked up from the airport after his long business trip, got out of the truck, unpacked his running shoes from his suitcase and ran back to the service station.  The kids and I stayed in the truck watching him go.  He never made it to the service station, but instead came upon a highway patrol officer sitting on the on ramp of the highway.  I think they had a good laugh at our situation as the patrol officer gave him a ride back to our truck.  Then the highway patrol officer pulled a gas can out of his car and put in a couple of gallons of gas into our truck.  Ryan took over the driving to get us safely to a gas station.

And that is where I learned to trust my gut and not the fuel range the truck so inaccurately displayed.

Did I mention the fuel light never came on?

Hay-Cup

Kellyn got her first hay-cup today (as she pronounces it).

She picked out her cape, cars not fish, and climbed right into the chair.  She sat very patiently and repeatedly said, "Mommy, what am I doing?".  Every time Mary, the hairdresser, squirted her hair with water Kellyn laughed that it tickled.  Kellyn was pretty excited about the whole process and to be given a sucker at the end.

Her hair is not drastically different, but it is cleaned up and should look thicker as it grows in more.

Things Heard Around Here

While leaving the movie theater after watching The Vow:

Ryan: I wouldn't do that for you.

Me: Yes you would and I know why.

Ryan: Why?

Me: We have a two year old and a three year old.  You wouldn't want to be stuck raising them all by yourself.

Ryan: Smiles

My sweet husband took me out on a date last night to celebrate my birthday a bit early since he has to work on my actual birthday.  He told me we could do anything I wanted.  I chose to go see The Vow.  We sat in the back of the theater (because it was full) and held hands through the entire movie.  I know I was smiling the entire time.  I don't often get to see a "chick flick" or hold hands with my husband through an entire movie.  Holding his hand reminded me of our "younger days" when life was so much simpler.

Afterwards we ate at a Japanese restaurant where they cook your food in front of you on the grill.  It was fun to go some place we don't normally go with two little kids and be different for a night.  The food was also amazing.  Since it was still early we wandered around Best Buy after dinner before we returned home to share a Boston Cream Pie with the kids and our friends who offered to babysit for us.

Thank you for such a fun night, Ryan.  I love you.

Baffled

I really enjoy watching my children creatively play.  It makes me smile as I realize they are cultivating their imaginations.  Sometimes, though, I do a double take:

I noticed the dinosaurs lined up in front of Kellyn's Valentine's card.

When I asked Kellyn what they were doing she said they were talking to the monkey.

Of course they are, how silly of me that I had to ask.

Those same dinosaurs were lined up in rows later and became Aric's math project.  On his own volition he was doing subtraction problems, "If you have four stegosaurus and take away one how many are left."  I didn't realize so much fun could be had with a bag of $1 Valentine clearance dinosaurs. (How are plastic dinosaurs a Valentine's item?)

Last night I went into Aric's room to put clothes away and came upon this scene:

When I asked him why the cars were in a circle and got past the "because they are" answer he said they wanted to see their friends.  It might just be me, but I don't think that looks friendly.  I'd be intimidated if I were one of the three cars in the middle.

Then this morning I happened upon this scene:

Why does Belle have a tiger in her lap?  Why is she encircled by dinosaurs?  I thought those questions, but thought better of asking them aloud.

The mind of a preschooler baffles me.

Things Heard Around Here

Aric made the best duck ever.

Translation:
Kellyn had trouble putting together a duck puzzle and Aric offered his assistance.  After he finished the puzzle (which was only five or six pieces), Kellyn came into the kitchen to tell me her puzzle was finished.

Pictures from My Phone

The kids had fun sledding yesterday.  We weren't out for very long, because the snow was heavy, wet and still snowing when we were out there.  Kellyn did not like going down by herself.  These photos were the only photos I took right after their first run.  Kellyn was actually crying while Aric was dusting himself off and asking if he could do it again.  The subsequent trips down I went with Kellyn in my lap.  She preferred the feeling of security that only an adult could provide without realizing that I had no control over that saucer and we almost ended up in that barbed wire fence at the bottom a couple of times.  It's too bad the snow will probably melt away today.  At least they experienced real sledding this winter.

Kellyn is definitely a girl.  She has begun to realize there are things called hair accessories.  She won't keep any of them in her hair for an extended period of time, but she frequently wants me to put something in her hair.

Last night she was admiring herself in the bathroom mirror:

Never one to be left out, Aric wanted his picture taken too.  He is growing up way too fast!

Finally

We'll be taking a break today from our normal activities because it finally snowed last night.  It's not much but it will work just fine for our purposes.  We have waited all winter for that to happen, especially since the kids were given snow saucers for Christmas.  This morning I finally unpacked them and showed them to the kids.  They are pretty excited about our after breakfast plans.

I am excited for them, but less excited about our after breakfast plans.  I know who will be hauling the kids and the saucers back up the hill.

Letting Go

When I make gifts for people or items for my shop I tend to be rather hard on myself if there are any flaws in the item.   I have really noticed this since I opened my shop and people began buying things.  Anytime I mailed something out I was nervous or had feelings of dread, hoping and praying that the recipient would like what they purchased.  It was awful and I had a terrible weight hanging on my shoulders.  The funny thing is that even when people responded positively to what they received I still had feelings of dread the next time.

Last week I read part of an interview on an Etsy blog and it freed me from being so hard on myself.

What does handmade mean to you?
Handmade means fun, creative, imperfect and created with love. There’s beauty in the imperfections. None of our cards are exactly the same. It’s so cheap, easy and fast to print digitally these days that we’re seeing a real resurgence in the artisan art community and an appreciation for the handmade process. The end product is often more tactile and personal. We think people respond to that, and there’s a connection made between the crafter and the recipient.

It made me realize that the people who were buying my things wanted something handmade.  If they didn't want a handmade item they would go to the nearest store and buy something with perfect stitches that a machine made.  That weight lifted off of my shoulders after reading that excerpt.

I am not saying that I have now freed myself to sloppily make things.  I still work hard to make things look nice.  That article allowed me to quit being so hard on myself, which is what I truly needed.  Sometimes no matter how hard I try or how many stitches I rip out and re-sew what I have made will never look perfect and that is okay.

Here is a peek at some of the things I have worked on in the past few weeks:

Valentine's themed diaper covers for a photo shoot.

This was a sample pillow case to see how it was made.

Pillow case #1 for a daycare.

Pillow case #2 for a daycare.

ID Holder without the wrist strap.

Pillow.  It is not quite finished, I ran out of stuffing.

My stock.  My sweet husband added shelves to a downstairs closet near my work area.  That way I can keep my merchandise protected while it is waiting to go to a new home.

This is usually what my work area looks like when I'm mid project.

Dear Ryan

Dear Ryan,

Today is your 36th birthday.  Time seems to go by much faster in adulthood, a little too fast.  I decided that I'll be 32 for awhile.  It seems like a good age.  I keep telling people I'll be 32 until I look 32 and then I'll move on to a different age.  The truth, well the truth is I can't face 34.  I know that is a year away but I thought about it and 33 didn't have the quite the same ring to me. If I'm going to be the same age for awhile I should like the sound of it, right?  Because of you I'm going to be 32 until I reach 35 and then I'll be my age again.  You would've laughed, but understood.

This year I knitted scarves for Rudy and Dad for their birthdays.  Rudy requested a manly scarf and kept dropping big hints on how nice it would be to have a knitted scarf.  I'm not sure he realized I might actually take him up on his request.  I taught myself through YouTube videos how to knit.  (It's amazing the kinds of teaching videos people post.  I'm not sure why they do it, but I was very thankful that someone did post the video.)  It was hard finishing the last scarf and not starting on yours next. 

I found some t-shirts you would've liked.  I smile thinking how much you would have enjoyed getting one for your birthday along with your scarf.

I remember the conversations we had about how unfair it was that they suddenly decided Pluto wasn't a planet.

Didn't you push Rudy into the street to "save" him from a spider?

So very true.  Some days when I miss you I buy a Carmel Macchiato and think of you.

You were the King of procrastination.  You had it down to a fine art.

Today Laura is going to come spend the day with me.  We're going to run errands, play with the kids, and I'll be thinking of you.  I have a bottle of your favorite wine to toast you with:

You would have gotten a huge kick out of how I obtained that wine for everyone.  Last summer when we were in Chicago I took the kids and drove to Monticello, IN for a liquor run.  That sales woman must have thought it was crazy that I bought three cases of Black Beauty wine, either that or I must have made her day because her sales stats looked pretty good.  I can see why you liked the place.  I might have stayed longer and poked around except it was raining cats and dogs and I had Aric and Kellyn who were a bit too fascinated with everything in the winery.  I spent the rest of the summer hauling wine around on our trips and delivering the cases.  We all have enough wine now to toast you for six years until someone needs to make another liquor run for more.  I call "not it"!

I think about you all of the time.  You were so loved and cherished and we all miss you terribly.  Kiss my babies and keep building those sand castles.

Happy Birthday, Ryan.

Things Heard Around Here

That's Kellyn.  She's my friend.  I'm her brother and she's my big girl.  And I can hug her all the time.

Translation:
It's good to hear them being nice to each other every once in awhile instead of fighting and arguing, which is usually the norm.  Although, I'm sure being hugged all of the time would cause some sort of argument to ensue.

To My Dad...

Happy Birthday.  I love you.

Kellyn's Favorite Hang Out

One of Kellyn's favorite toys to play with is the kitchen:

It seems fitting that my daughter enjoys it, because I played with that kitchen all of the time while growing up.  It holds some very special memories for me. 

Except I don't recall using it in quite the same way that Kellyn does:

Kellyn empties the kitchen, pulls the sink out and climbs inside, closing the door behind her.  Sometimes she sits in there singing and talking to herself.

Other times she acts goofy, repeatedly popping her head up, trying to get attention.

Regardless, I'm happy that it brings her so much joy, even if it is not quite in the same way as I enjoyed it.

My Week in Photos

It has been a rough week around here.  It started Monday with Kellyn getting sick and slowly went down hill.  By today, Kellyn is on the mend, Aric broke his fever, and Ryan and I have been up since 2am with bad congestion and a three year old snoring in our bed.  

Here are some photos from my phone that were taken over the week:

We began teaching Aric to spell and write words.  This week he learned: mommy, daddy, bird, pig, dog and cat.

I managed to get some sewing done and added more wristlets to my Etsy store.

Even while sick, Kellyn is mischievous.

I caught her sticking little animals into the cords on the blinds.

Good thing the blinds are sturdy, thus far.

The living room looked like this most of the week.  Daddy had to work late all week and Mommy was too tired to keep up.

Aric was hit by the bug and wiped out.

The usual conditions I find myself in while sewing.

 I thought my sewing area was bad until I turned around and saw this:

This work of art was done last night single- handedly by Kellyn, who was obviously on the mend.  Aric was playing his racing game while this happened.  I had been sewing and Daddy was stuck at work.

And those are the reasons I haven't kept up with my blog all week.

To My Brother...

Happy Birthday to my brother who is now officially an antique.  You make me feel old!