Come See Me...
over at Mommy Needs a Time-Out!
Careful, there's a toy in there
My oldest daughter's birthday was a couple of weeks ago (and yes, I know I still owe you a Letter and some pics...) and as with any 4-year old birthday girl, she was the receiver of many gifts from her little friends and loving relatives. Toys with lots of loud sounds and many tiny pieces that I've managed to step on in the middle of night - just how many pieces comes with that Cootie game anyway?! I'm also still finding Dora stickers that have managed to miss the vacuum and end up stuck to the bottom of my feet, but anyway...
So every day, she digs into her stash and brings me another toy to release from the imprisonment of its packaging. Seriously now - when did it become so important to practically need a deadbolt cutter and a secret password to get these things out of their boxes? I peeled off more tape from one Dora toy than I used to wrap all of my Christmas gifts. For the past three years. One particular cash register set required a Phillip's head screwdriver - just to get it out of the box. I seriously was expecting to find some real money tucked away in the cash drawer considering the means I had to go to just to take it out of the box. And those wire things they insist on threading through the toy, around the wheels, out the other side, around Dora's neck (a little creepy there)? Those require a pre-medication of a little Pinot Grigio to take the edge off of the frustration.
I sit here now and look at the pile of toys that await me, that are whispering "Help me!" "Free me from this cruelty!" and all I can do is take a deep breath in and sigh, as I've only just begun on this journey that is motherhood. There are still many birthdays and holidays to come that will be filled with toys and dolls and games that are wired in, taped tightly, and probably rigged with some detonator if undone incorrectly.
Speaking of another birthday, my baby girl turns two *gasp* in just over a month!
I'll be ready; armed with a box of tissues (she is my baby), a pair of pliers, and in case of emergency... a sledgehammer.
Bring it on.
Good Mom - Bad Mom
Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go perfectly with your children? They wake up sweetly, snuggle with you just enough, eat every last morsel of every meal you prepare and ask for more, play quietly and get along, tell you how much they love you, take baths and brush their teeth without complaint, and go to bed without so much as a whine, squeezing your neck so tightly you can get drunk on the smell of their just-washed heads. Life is good, and your success as a mother is confirmed.
Today was not one of those days.
Today was what I like to call: a "Bad Mom" day.
Okay, so it started out fine. Both the girls woke up in a decent mood, but it went downhill from there. Lil Sis set the tone by throwing most of her breakfast on the floor, Big Sis decided that whatever toy she was playing with was never better than that which was in her sister's hands (and proceeded to pitch a fit and scream about it before she ripped it out of Lil Sis' hands - followed by more fits and screaming.) The weather was cold and windy outside so we were stuck inside and cabin fever ensued... tranlating to my house was torn apart. Then... I fed them McDonald's for lunch for the second time this week. (I'm so ashamed...) As with breakfast, Lil Sis made sure her nuggets and apples and a ton of ketchup ended up on the floor, then had a meltdown when I wouldn't let her have said spilled ketchup. (So we have a three second rule at home... but no way at McDonald's Have you ever looked under those tables? Ick.)
I digress.
After the ordeal at the Golden Arches, we headed home where Big Sis decided she didn't need to take a nap and thus repeated that phrase at the top of her lungs until her sister awoke from her slumber in a crying stupor. So much for cleaning the floors and catching up on blogs. I was a little annoyed at this point, and the mother "tone" set in, and to make matters worse... Big Sis can imitate perfectly and it bugs the crap out of me - which is totally why she does it.
Anyhow... dinner led to more food on the floor (sensing a theme here?) from both of the girls - Lil Sis on purpose of course, and Big Sis by an unfortunate miss of the counter. Desperate to clean it up (and pour the wine), I set both girls down to color at the table, letting Lil Sis sit in a "big girl" chair since I pushed it all the way up to the table. Bad idea.
Add closed head injury to the list. Yeah.
While comforting my little one (and checking for skull deformity and equal pupil size), Big Sis felt a little neglected I guess and decided to say over and over "When I was little I hit my head too, right Mom? Mom? When I was little I hit my head too, right Mom? Mom? MOM?! When I was little I hit my head too, right Mom?" At that point, a noise came out of me I don't think I could recreate if I tried, but it was something like this: "Eeuuooooooouuuuuuueeeeeoggghghhhhhh!!!!" Of course her reply was... "I WANT DADDY!!"
Oh. No. She. Dih'nt.
Bad Mom day.
I read enough Mom blogs to know that I am not alone in my lack of perfection as a mother, but I'm not sure if it bugs other people as much as it does me. I am a perfectionist. I am used to being good at things and I can't stand that I have these days when I feel like a complete and utter failure as a mother. I know that this too shall pass, but still. I guess I just hope that in the midst of my making wrong decisions or losing my patience, I'm giving enough praise and squeezes and making enough right choices to shape my daughters into better people. I just hope the good days outnumber the bad and that at the end of the day, they know I love them.
After all the chaos today, my girls lay side-by-side on a pillow palette, watching Thumbelina, drinking their milks, and giggling away. I leaned in and kissed their sweet, clean heads - getting drunk off the smell.
At the end of today - they know I love 'em.
Hmmmm...
I have not been knitting as of late - my poor needles and yarn are quite neglected, sitting in their woven baskets as I work on my new passion - sewing. Since I don't know when I'll go back to my neglected namesake, I'm contemplating changing the name of the old blog and revamping it. I've been trying to keep up with a blogger blog for my sewing and this typepad one, but it'd be so much easier to switch to just one, dontcha think?
I know those of you who used to read my blog for knitting content are disappointed, and I apologize. It's not that I don't still love knitting, because I do, but in this season of my life, when I am a full-time working mother, I don't have the time or patience to devote to knitting projects. My trusty Singer provides me with a creative outlet and a faster turnaround time for projects.
Since I've had this blog for nearly six years, I don't want to get rid of it. There are a lot of life memories contained in these archives, including those of my two little life-changers... You've been here for all of that, so I can't let that go!
So what to do? Do I change the name?? Add another blog??
Help me decide!
At last...
My love has come along...
or in this case, my second Fetching mitt!
Yes, you are reading this correctly. I finally finished the second Fetching mitt!!
Oh yeah... I couldn't have finished these at a better time either, seeing as the temperature today dropped 30 degrees in a matter of a couple of hours. That makes for some chilly hands - I'm even wearing these bad boy as I type, as the open fingers allow me that freedom!
And if you're coveting the mug... it's from my second home (Target). I get all giddy just sipping from it. The owl perching on the handle is just... perfect.
*sigh* Love is in the air...
I don't have another yarn project in the works just yet, as my time has been spent sewing and making things for the etsy shop, but I am wanting a cardigan for spring, so let the pattern-perusing begin!
Her Majesty
I spent this weekend playing with another idea for the etsy shop - a princess set complete with crown and wand. And who else to try it out? None other than her Royal Highness big sis!
I just love my princesses...
Slow
That pretty much sums up the knitting progress around here, but I've been attempting to finish my Fetching mitt!
See?! I'm working on the ribbed portion before separating for the gusset, so I'm really almost done. And seeing as Texas has had 70-80 degree weather lately, I haven't been missing these on my hands... Maybe this weekend I'll finish? Ya never know!
This is what else I've been up to... another blog and an etsy shop!
I've been trying to finish some handmade things for the shop and come up with new ideas, so it's been stealing my time normally spent with my yarn and dpns...
A girl's gotta craft!
Apologies
My apologies for the lack of knitting content on the blog. I'm experiencing second-mitt-syndrome with my Fetching project but am determined to pick it up this weekend and complete it. I have been busy with other crafting - sewing in particular - so my wooden needles have been neglected. But that may soon change... I just received my new IK and have found some tempting patterns, so it might be time to make time for the knitting!
New Year, New Crafts
Happy New Year to everyone!
While I must admit I haven't been knitting as of late, I haven't lost my passion for all things wool. Here's what I have been up to...
Wool felt balls, in one of my favorite color combos. These are destined for spring craftiness - details to soon follow.
Here are some of my Christmas projects:
Christmas outfits for the girls. Red eyes courtesy of their mama too!
And a retro holiday apron for my sis!
I've got a ton of crafty little ideas floating arouhd in my head already... 2009 is going to be a great year!
When life gives you lemons...
make lemonade.
When life hands you fabric that you cut incorrectly...
make a ruffled apron!
I bought this fabric for the girls' christmas outfits and misread the pattern, cutting the width on the fold instead of the length. Ugh, I know. I wanted to be able to use the fabric somehow, in its odd little sizes, and found this pattern from One More Moore - and the rest is ruffled history.
