Perri's Little Boyfriend

My youngest daughter, Persephone (a.k.a. Perri, 21 months old) already has a boyfriend.  A friend of mine and I took our kiddos to Little Monkey Business a few weeks ago.  We spent $10 each and let them run wild for about an hour.  We got a bit of a work out chasing them.  Bouncy houses, slides, and all sorts of climbing opportunities presented the kids with endless fun.  They played together, mowed each other over on the slides, and even held hands when finding the next place to play.

Both of our kiddos are very loving little individuals and when it was time to say goodbye, they gave each other a hug.  Then, Perri went in for a kiss.

It was super cute.  So we decided to meet up again at Little Monkey Business for more fun - and let's face it, us mommies needed some time to chat and catch up too - and a little lunch afterwords.  The kids played well (even after being bullied by asshole kids) and had tons of fun.  We went to lunch where they shared crackers, their meals, and even their balloons.  Mommy had a beer.

When it was time to walk back to the car, the babies held hands, babbled to each other, and even tried to get into shenanigans with the snow.  They gave each other (and the mommies) a hug and expressed to us that they didn't want to part.  SO CUTE!!

I hope Perri has this little friend for a long time to come.  I hope that she keeps her loving and sharing nature.

And that mommy can capture most of the moments on camera.

   

 

Swap Loot! : Mythological Creatures and Cryptids

What an awesome mail day!  You know those days when there isn't a bill nestled inside your mailbox?  Those days are awesome, but even more awesome is when your mailman has to ring the doorbell because you have a package.  And even better, when you have 2 packages!

Which is what we had today.  It was a massive swap loot day.  I received an amazing package from the Mythological Creatures swap on Ravelry as well as an equally amazing Cryptid package from RantyHippie on Craftster.  

I was so in love with everything that we took about a million pictures.  Since Persephone has seperation anxiety, she had to be in most of the pictures, but she is too cute not to be.  

First, the Cryptid swap on Craftster:  We opened the box to find this: 

An adorable sea serpent, a mermaid dolly, and a GIANT squid.  

The sea serpent was claimed by the kids, the squid has a home on my bed, and there is a funny story behind the mermaid.  Perry is a hair puller and I have been contemplating getting her a dolly to pull it's hair and maybe not mine.  (pipe dream, I know.)  Earlier in the day I was at the store and looking for dollies.  I couldn't find one.  So imagine how awesome it was to find a mermaid dolly in the box!  Perry loves it.

 So many thanks to RantyHippie for the amazing swap loot.

Next I opened the Mythical Creatures package.  Look at these extras!  Gorgeous purple yarn, dragon toys for the kiddos, stickers (that  my older and tomboy daughter declared were for the baby's scrapbook, amigurimi eyes, and delicious smelling tea.  Oh, and Troy has asked to hang the postcard in his room.

 Medusa hair bookmarks.  Such a clever idea!  My daughter has decided that I may have one because I don't get to read as often as she does.

Then we found a present for Steven.  Chthulu.  And he is riding along with Steven at work tonight, although the baby loves him too.

A beautiful mermaid tail scarf that has been confiscated by the girl child...but she looks so cute in it!

And a unicorn lovey for Perry.  I have also been looking at getting her or making her a lovey and instead we have a beautiful homemade lovey...with a unicorn.

And a few bonus pics of the kiddos playing with the dragons.

Persephone's Blanket Finished

This kid has so many handmade blankets.  Her grandmother crochets and mommy has crafty ADD.  But I saw this yarn and knew that Miss Perry needed another blanket.

The yarn is Baby Bernat in Little Petunias (looks like Neapolitan ice cream) and Baby Bernat in white with a size N hook.

I simply started out with a grany square and just kept going.

I did 7 rounds with the Neapolitan yarn, 3 with white, 2 with Neapolitan,  3 white, and finished with a round of Neapolitan. 

It is super soft and Perry loves it. And of course she has taste tested it.

Instant Crafty Gratification

In a swap on Ravelry, I claimed a young mom in Poland for a onesie with an applique tie.  I made a few for my son years ago, so I headed to the store for some plain Gerber long sleeved onesies and pillaged the scrap bin for the perfect fabric.

I carefully drew a tie shape on my iron-on stabilizer and got it right on the third try.  Cut it out, ironed it to the onesie and then did a short zig-zag stitch all the way around.  It turned out adorable!

But that wasn't enough for my crafty desire.  I wanted more and I had two long sleeve onesies staring at me in their blankeness.

I found this adorable iron on in a box that came out of the craf room and knew it had to be used.  I ironed it and gave it a few securing stitches.

Then I found this iron-on (in the same box, somehow) and ironed it to the other onesie.

Not terribly impressive or skillful, but I love them.  I got some almost instant gratification and it put me in the crafty mood.

Dinner Failure

Dinner did not come easy this evening.  I was late out of work and needed to stop by Kohls to buy some new work pants as mine were so worn, my co-workers could tell me the color of my polka dot, cheeky underwear today.  Whoops.

So I ran over there and tried on too many pairs of pants and settled on one pair.  Why only one?  Because cloth sizing sucks!  It differs between all brands and I couldn't find any that fit, looked nice, and cooperated with the uniform dress code.  So I settled for one pair that almost fits dress code and rushed to pick up the kiddos.

My plan was to pick up the kids and run to the grocery store and pick up items for Wild Tree's strogonof mix that I am excited to try.  When I walked into Grandma' house, I saw my son in soaking wet pants.  Turns out he had an accident while napping.  It has been so long since this has happened, that I never even thought to send extra clothes for a few hours with grandma.

So that would be an extra stop home, then to the store, and then home to take 20 minutes or so to make dinner.  It would be after 7 pm before the kids ate and I need their tummies to settle before bath and bed.  So I made an executive decision.  A decision that I did not feel totally comfortable with and my stomach will hate me for in an hour or so.

I went to McDonald's.

I ordered happy meals and chicken nuggets for myself.  The kids were excited.  I ate my fries and nuggets and reminded myself that this is not an every night thing.  We eat fairly healthy and one trip to the golden arches won't kill us...I hope.

I sat at the table with my three smallest children (baby in my lap) and finished my meal in a little under four minutes.  During that time the following statements were made with a mouthful food in between rushed bites as the baby wasn't having any of this "mom sitting down" nonsense.

Perry, let's not post pics to Facebook.
Athena, stop playing with the bug and eat your food.
Troy, can we wear pants please?
Perry, you can't have sweet and sour sauce.
Athena, food.
Troy. Boxers are not pants.
Perry. please don't erase my apps.
Athena! I am going to take the hex bug away. Come eat now.

And then, for about 22 seconds I ate in peace with the exception of baby hands grabbing my eyebrows.

Good Morning Blue Eyes!!

I woke up this morning to the sound of cooing.  I rolled over to see the brightest blue eyes staring at me.  She made a gentle and silly raspberry noise to say "Good Morning Mommy!"  I spent around an hour nursing, cuddling, and playing with Persephone.  I didn't look at the clock, think about the bill I need to pay today, the appointment this afternoon, or even glance at the growing pile of laundry (I swear it multiplies while I sleep).  I just stayed in my jammies and enjoyed the time with my youngest child.

I was able to get a few soft giggles from her before she started her pterodactyl yell that has given her the nickname "Perrydactyl."  We played with her taggie ball, sang some songs, read a Sandra Boynton book, and she threw a fit when I wouldn't allow her to have my eyelashes.  It was the most beautiful morning and I realized how amazingly lucky I am to have this morning.

I didn't have to rush off to work (like our hard-working and sexy chef did), or rush to take the older kiddos to school, and I didn't have any other business that needed my immediate attention.  And if there was something, it couldn't be that important if I didn't even think about it.

It is after ten in the morning and I am still in my jammies.  Perry is dressed due to a stinky diaper change and we will go about our day in a little while.  Mornings like this are somewhat rare for me and very much cherished.  I hope that all parents out there get to have this special time with their little ones every once in a while.  And when you do get it, cherish it.  Don't worry about last night's dishes, the 15 e-mails you have, or the blinking light on your phone alerting you of whatever Facebook game you play.

Just enjoy the morning.

Nothing Better than the Laughter of Children

Perry let out her first giggles the other night.  She was enjoying tummy time on the bed while playing with Steven and I.  I leaned my chin into her little armpit and tickled her gently.  This is something that we both do frequently, but this time she giggled.  It was the sweetest sound and we were so happy that we were both present to hear it.  

We tried so hard to recreate the giggle on camera.  We got a little bit of giggling, but as soon as she sees the camera, she stops performing.  Here are the two videos:

The Luxury of Sleep

The baby didn't sleep very well last night.  She woke up a few times to be fed and a few times to play.  She looks up at me with that big, toothless grin and I have to smile back and say "go back to bed baby."  It made for an interesting day at work...but I realized that sleep is a luxury.  Not just for me and other new parents, but for a LOT of people in this country.  We run ourselves ragged and the first thing we sacrifice for more hours in the day is sleep.

Parents struggle to find time for work, the house, the kids, and the spouse and sometimes that means staying up an hour extra to get the dishes done, lunches packed, or some cuddle time on the couch.  We wake up an hour early to get breakfast ready, find the "lost" shoes, and have a few minutes to fart around on the computer before the kids wake up.  The world just keeps spinning faster everyday.

This morning I woke up after on and off bouts of sleep all night and readied myself for work.  That includes getting myself dressed and presentable, the baby ready for grandma's house, and getting the breast pump and accessories ready for work.  Now, I should have done that last night, but I went to bed early due to exhaustion.  So it needed to be done in the morning.  I also took a few minutes to check my e-mail and Facebook and send a message to my ex-husband regarding my son's homework he was hiding from us.

Tonight I will probably stay up late working on a form for Alexandria, get the pantry re-organized (since all the food is sitting on my kitchen table), and maybe have some cuddle time and a movie with Steven while crocheting Perry's blanket.

I might sacrifice a little bit of sleep before my 5:30 a.m. alarm (if the baby doesn't wake up first) in order to do these things, but when else do I do them?  And I am tired of hearing "sometimes you just have to let some things go and spend time with your family."  Just how far do I let things go?  I let the yard go when the baby was sick and ended up with a fine and court fees for the weeds by my fence.  I let a lot of things go.  I won't even mention how long it has been since I vacuumed...  There are things I can't just let be.

For instance - the pantry.  One of my darling children (or boyfriend...) spilled honey on one of the shelves.  Then someone set a box of cereal on top of it.  I can't let honey and cardboard stick to the shelf and have things keep sticking to it.  Also, we were at a point in our disorganization that it appeared we had tons of food and no room to put new groceries, but in reality, we have nothing to eat.  Please tell me someone else has been there...  It appears that I "let it go" for too long and now I have to spend an hour (when I could be sleeping) to fix it.  

Also- Cloth diapers.  The baby is almost out of diapers.  And we have a 3-5 day stash...whoops.  Those are in the washer as we speak, and fortunately, I can usually fold them while the baby is awake as long as we play peek-a-boo and she gets to play in her bouncer or exersaucer.  But I usually end up folding them (and other laundry) after bed time.

So yes.  Sleep is a luxury that not everyone can afford.  I have things to do that can't be ignored.  Now, I am sure that a little more organization would help me out and I would have more time to do that sleeping that eludes me at times, but I need the time to get organized.  I have been working on organizing key areas of the house (like the pantry, laundry room, and the bedroom closet) but it has been a slow go.  I can't give up too much more sleep or I might fall asleep in the syrup dispenser at work.

What do you give up your sleep for?  Or better yet, what are you "letting go" of to get sleep?

Tim Burton Swap Received

I received an amazing swap package from the owner of Sweet Serendipty 37 Etsy shop.  She was my stalker/spoiler in the Tim Burton Swap on Ravelry.  The Odd Ducks Swap group has been so awesome to be apart off and this is my 2nd swap in that group.  My spoilee will receive soon and I will post all the goodies I made for her.  But for now, on to the pictures!

Here is the box after I opened.  All those goodies waiting for me to peek inside.

The first thing I opened is this incredible Beetlejuice pillow!  It is going to sit on my bed in all of its awesomeness.

Then I opened up some yummy K Cup coffees that Steven is super excited about nd some yummy yarn that I cannot wait to knit with.  A few more packages revealed a pumpkin stamp, a Batman flashlight (but she said I had to give it to the kids) , black and white ribbon, and the book Burton on Burton which Steven and I have been longing to read. 

But wait!  There is so much more!  Oreo truffles.  Those are demolished already.  See the pics of my kiddos for reference.  There is also a pattern for an adorable sand worm scarf like Lydia Deets wears in the cartoon, and a very nice note.

I have wanted a Zero scarf for YEARS!!  And look!  He is mine...although Persephone likes him too.

And a Jack Skellington shirt.  It fits comfotable and is on an awesome jersey fabric that is super soft.  The note said something about being pajamas, but this is one kind of PJ's I'll allow in public.

 Thank you so much for the wonderful package!  It really made my day.  I am  hoping my spoilee enjoys her gifts as much as I love mine.

Into the Depths of My Closet

My bedroom closet was a disaster zone.  I still am not 100% sure what came out of there.  Over the last year or so it had become the dumping ground.  Too many pillows on the bed?  Toss them in the closet and I'll get them out tomorrow.  Tomorrow never came.  Where do we hide the kid's Christmas gifts?  The closet looks like a good place.  Good thing we got them all out before Christmas morning 2013.  I have too many pajama pants, can we put some in the closet?  Sure!  I'll remember they are there.  I didn't.

It go to the point where the floor had disappeared, the door wouldn't shut, and I couldn't find my clothes for work.  I couldn't put any laundry away and the couch became the new dresser/closet.  The bedroom closet had become a huge subject of stress and Steven and I were fighting about it almost daily.  My style is more "a place for everything and everything in its place" while Steven follows more of a "frat boy just moved away from home" style of organization.  Sigh.

So the other day I decided it was time.  I knew it was going to be rough.  I knew I would find a lot of "lost" goodies.  I knew I would have the demanding baby in my arms most of the time.  But I was determined.  I wanted my couch back and to be able to see my clothing hanging up.  I didn't want to use a shovel to find my shoes...okay so maybe I didn't need a shovel, but in hindsight, it would have been useful.

I should have taken before pictures to show how hard I worked and justify the almost 2 days it took to finish everything.  I could make excuses, but really, I was embarrassed.  A lot.

The first thing I did was to strip the bed down to the mattress.  I knew that I would be finding pillows, Steven's crocheted blanket, and even the box full of sheets.  That, and Persephone barfed all the bed before we started.

In the beginning Persephone chilled out in her co-sleeper while I pulled random items out of the closet and played peek-a-boo with at least half of them.  After a while, she wanted to be fed so I gave her a little bit of cereal and nursed her.  Still wide awake, I placed her on the mattress in the middle of the mess and continued the bizarre game of peek-a-boo.

Somehow she tired herself out and fell asleep.  I kicked it into high gear and had the closet mostly empty.  I also spent an inordinate amount of time organizing my jewelry box, although I rarely wear jewelry anymore.

When she woke up after 45 minutes we played, nursed, and got her changed.  This is where progressed slowed a bit.  I set her in her bouncy and she started playing.  She was making the most adorable cooing noises as she played and I had to get video.  As soon as I started the video, she started yelling and making that "I'm getting pissed off" noise.  Fortunately, I got it on video.

By this time, the closet was empty with the exception of the area behind the door as Persephone didn't like when she couldn't see me.

I picked up the baby and together we started clearing and rearranging things in the closet.  We stopped for a selfie to document the process and text daddy to tell him this was her 4th outfit so far.

When Steven got home from work, he played with his little princess and I finished getting things put back together.  Before I could finish hanging up laundry it was dinner time, which soon leads to the "witching hour" for baby.  But tomorrow is always another day.








The next day I concentrated on returning the couch to its former position as a place to sit and relax.  I also hammered in nails to hold his hats, which includes a large sombrero...don't ask.  I also went through papers that were found and had Steven get all the stuff he wanted put away into his safe.  I still have a few loads of laundry to do and put away, but it looks so much better!

My side

Behind the Door

Even more shoes and accessories

Steven's side including sombrero