A Clever Blanket

Clever and I finally finished the baby blanket for our new cousin. Clever was a little hesitant on doing the actual sewing since it would be a gift. But of course I made her do a bit of it. Just for the experience. It was a fairly simple cut and sew project but since we only worked on it for about an hour once a week it took a long time.

Here's the front. Clever made up the pattern.


This is the back. Clever did most of the cutting.


A close-up.


We are both happy it's done. Now I need to pack it up and mail it out. Now, on to the next project!


Later...

On The Countdown

We're only eleven days from celebrating Baby's second birthday. We're not planning a big party like my mother wants. There's six of us here, that's a party unto itself. I'm planning on getting a lot of balloons, a cake, and of course a few presents. But no other family will be invited. We're actually lucky, because her birthday falls on one of two nights that hubby is home from grad school. So we'll all be here. I'm looking forward to seeing her excitement.

Baby has been talking so much lately. She's also a huge runner. It's rare that she walks. She needs to run, dance, bounce, anything with extra movement. She will need a gymnastics class in the near future!

Here are a few things that keep us laughing with her...

She thinks she can spell words. So she says "car. hijk. car" or "shoes. hijk. shoes". Everything is spelled "hijk". It's quite adorable.

As you know Happy is a huge "I love you" kid. He must say it at least fifty times a day. So the conversation goes "I love you mama", "I love you too Happy", and then from Baby "you too mama". She's now progressing to "love you too mama".

Baby used to say "bus", now it's always "school bus" because really, there are so many kind of buses.

Everything used to be green, now she knows all her colors and only confuses pink and purple once in a while.

Baby can count up to fourteen. No joke. Every number.

What used to be "thanks", is now "thank you mama".

Every morning she wakes up and explains how she slept all night in her big girl bed. She's doing awesome. Thank goodness. I was certainly prepared for the worst but am very happy to report that she LOVES her big bed and sleeps all night, every night.

Baby can finish the question "where are your" with "socks". She takes them off way too many times a day.

She's our last child and I'm enjoying every bit of her. She's funny, smart, adorable, and just a whole lot of fun. And she needs a new bloggy name. Baby is just not capturing her whole personality.


Later...

Sidelines

Clever is learning how to play volleyball. I'm sitting on the bleachers. There's a running track above me and I see women and men, old and young, running, walking, and jogging. Some may be here because of high blood pressure, low blood pressure, losing weight, gaining weight, or other health reasons. Finding a mate, getting away from home, or just wanting to feel fit and healthy. Whatever the reasons they are here, they did it. They got out, changed their clothes, and started. That's more than most people do.

Running, lifting weights, cycling, playing basketball, and lunging is what I see from my little spot on the sidelines.

Moms, dads, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, boyfriends, girlfriends, young, and old all here. Sweating, grunting, cursing, laughing, thinking, and daydreaming. Listening to music, gossip, complaints, tall tales, and wisdom.

I would look very silly, but I want to stand and start clapping. Give every person here a standing ovation, maybe even a woo-hoo! They deserve it. Every single one of them.


Later...

What Once Was

I am fortunate enough to have family nearby. Not just some family, a lot of it. We moved here about seven years ago hoping we would be able to get some help with a bit of babysitting. What ended up happening was I would drive my mom to doctor appointments, pick up my cousin's kid from school, and watch that same kid once a week for three years.

My cousin and I were close when we were growing up. Neither one of us has a sister and we're only four months apart in age. We didn't have much more in common except for that. She is exceptionally smart and I always looked up to her. When we were about thirteen years old she spent a few weeks of summer break at my house. We went to the swim club almost every day. It was great. The following summer I went to her house. We were counselors for a camp specializing in mentally and physically handicapped children. That was one of the best summers ever. The two of us were very close.

We got older and she went to college in the Northeast and I went to the Midwest. We lost touch for a bit, got married, got back in touch, moved far away from each other, and lost touch again. Fast forward to the year 2002. We move within twenty minutes of each other. She worked full time and had her little girl in daycare. She and her husband could only afford day care for a few days a week. I'm a stay at home mom with two kids, hey, I can help. We end up taking care of her daughter (for free!) for three years. Once a week during the school year and two days a week over the summers.

After two years our relationship was getting strained and it was difficult to communicate to each other. My children were not enjoying their cousin anymore. It was getting to be a burden having her here. She was not like my kids. She's an only child who had sharing issues, bathroom issues, eating issues, and didn't like to do things for herself (like put on her own shoes!). I was frustrated and pregnant with Happy.

After finding out about Happy's health issues and the fact that I needed to been seen by a doctor sometimes twice a week, I decided it was time to give up the child watching. My cousin said she understood, but I know I really made her mad. I gave her a month's notice so she would have plenty of time to make plans on where her daughter could go. Things have not been the same since.

Fast forward again. I see my cousin about twice a year at family functions. My kids don't like their cousin because she is bossy and loud. I don't care for her much either. Up until this month my cousin and I have exchanged presents for our children's birthdays. My cousin is known for forgetting my kid's birthdays. It's common to have a birthday present arrive a few months after their birthday. Happy had a birthday in September and received his present in December, by way of my father, in a plastic grocery bag, with no card. Last year I mailed her daughter a gift card for her birthday. I never received a thank you note and had to casually mention the gift card at a family gathering just to make sure it wasn't lost in the mail.

My cousin's daughter's birthday was last month. I totally missed it. Not on purpose. I just forgot. I'm sure my subconscious had something to do with it. Now that I know I missed it should I get her a present? Of course I should, we've been doing this for years. But is it just time to stop? We're not close anymore, never see each other outside of family functions, never talk on the phone anymore, and I really don't like her kid. BUT we're family. I'm sitting on the fence with this dilemma. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated!


Later...

Full House

All the kids are home, hubby is working in the basement, AND his MBA classes are cancelled tonight. The weather is horrible. Ice, sleet, snow. It's actually very beautiful out there. I haven't ventured out yet but have been asked many times when "can go out and play?". I'm sure I'll give in after lunch when it warms up a bit and the snow slows down.

The weekend out of town was great. Except for the dropping off the little ones part. It was easy for them. Not so easy for me. Happy said he was going to worry about me. Great. I told him when I got back he would tell me all the wonderful things he did and I would tell him what I did. Happy and Baby did lots of exciting things. They got to go sledding, take long baths, and watch many movies. What more could little ones need?

As I was driving back home, all alone in my big van, with no car seats, I cried just a few tears. Not a hysterical, what am I doing cry, just a little one. I got over it quickly and mentally went over my list of things to do before we needed to leave in a few hours.

As for the rest of us, we did things that we couldn't do with the three and under crowd. We went bowling and played glow-in-the-dark mini golf. I also found a toboggan run out there too. We all enjoyed a weekend without little voices and needs.

The next couple of trips hubby and I are going alone. Either keeping the kids together or splitting them between their grandparents. We are very lucky to have them so close. I will always worry about them but at least they are with family. Each set of grandparents has their own set of issues, but all in all they're in a good place.


Later...

On Our Way

Well, it's here. The weekend we drop Happy and Baby off at the in-laws and take Clever and Funny with us to Detroit. What's in Detroit, you ask? Hubby's convention. We thought it would be nice to do "big kid" things and not worry about crying, potty running, diaper changing, sippy cups, and meltdowns.

I plan on dropping the little ones off tomorrow morning when the big kids are at school. I thought it would be too hard on them to see all of us get in the car and leave (abandon) them. Me leaving them would be less stressful. Not for me. Just for them. I plan on crying the entire half hour ride back home.

They have never stayed anywhere overnight so this is new for everyone. I feel that they are old enough to communicate what they need and they are easy to reason with. My in-laws live on five acres of woods so that's very different from their own home. Plenty of places to explore. Yup, packing their boots and snow pants.

Today I'm doing the final load of laundry so they have enough changes of clothes to last the weekend. The list is a long one for packing. Everything from diapers to favorite stuffed animal. In my heart I'm not worried. I know they will do fine and so will their grandparents. But that won't stop me from calling each day at least twice to check in.

This evening I will have Clever and Funny pack their bags. It's great now that their older. I just have to tell them how many of each article of clothing to pack and they do it themselves. They each pack a book bag full of activities like books and hand held games to keep them occupied. They have no idea what it's like not to have the little ones around. I think they will love having all our attention. We can just jump in the car without packing the "just in case"s. I'm looking forward to the mature weekend.


Later....

Wordless Wednesday