keep it local

Felt compelled to pass this on, it's a really good idea: The 3/50 Project.

Happy Spring!

In honor of this glorious day, how about some flowers, or some Paris? Or both! Oh my. Courtesy of the ever-inspiring Design Sponge, of course.

Football!

Milo does thing where he will hold something in his mouth and show it off or crawl around with it... this time it was a little football. He was incredibly proud of this and having so much fun, it was fun to watch. And then Pete got hold of the ball and that was the end of that.

Thank goodness for early voting!

It's kind of exciting to live in state where the race will be close and your vote might actually make a difference. As opposed to a state like, oh I don't know.... Wyoming maybe?

And maybe some day I'll get back to posting up pictures from the real camera instead of these crappy phone pictures. Just maybe.

little susie homemaker and the nose-pickers

Lately I've been playing around on the sewing machine again. Feels good to get some of those ideas out of my head and into the fabric. Maybe eventually I'll make something photo-worthy to post here.

And this is long gone. Milo is all over the place and into everything like I never could have imagined. It's fun though, he's such a smiley, happy baby. And Amelia is surprisingly patient with him. So patient in fact, that yesterday I found her laying on the floor in her room, Milo climbing on top of her, with his fingers up her nose. How's that for getting your little brother to do your dirty work?!

his way

Aahhh...

Right now I am totally digging this peaceful side-by-side play. I know it will not last long so I'm enjoying every minute of it while I can.

Happy Mother's Day!

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side byside near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-from Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit


*

Ye old blog. And RIP ye old SUV.

This is the xanga blog I kept for a while, just wanted to have it linked somewhere here.

Off now to gather belongings out of the new (to us) 4runner that was just in an accident and probably totalled. :( Conrad was driving and not hurt thankfully. The kids and I weren't even in the car when it happened and I'm so glad... it rolled and everything. Scary. Probably a sign that we can't afford the gas for a vehicle like that.

Oh my.

Oh my, could I Hate Laundry be coming back???? Oh my.


oh me oh me oh my. If you've never read her blog you should pick one randomly from her archive and start. She writes some funny shit.

Hair.

I've decided that it's kind of lame to not use my kids' real names here. Nobody even calls Milo "butter bean". I did for a little bit, and still do but not very often, it never really stuck. We still sometimes call Amelia "Peaches" but it feels kind of fake whenever I type the nicknames. So they're Amelia and Milo from now on.

And Amelia (at age 4 almost!!!) just had her first haircut yesterday! I gave her the choice of going to a salon to have it done or have me do it. She chose me, so yesterday I plopped her down in front of Peep and started chopping. So far the only picture I have is this one from my phone.

And she has school pictures today, so I'm excited to see how they turn out. Now if only I could get around to doing something with my head of unruliness.

The Peach Blogs

fifiugtu amelia ryyrytgrtryrtrhijyhsahayafafagfsagshdgdhdtgdhgtshsg iruryhruryurrhueyeyeyet

uyewywywtwyeteye6yteuyy6eyetyeyftgdtdhdytryeyetefeytwetwdways3 AHGSWT5WREWRWE65TWRyeteeteeytrtrteyrerye657fg7gfuy6frfh6trb fcjmfhfhfgfkjfgfjhfdgdhdgeueyeuedteyeteytetreyetetrreryrtruyrtyryrurtyrutyt7uttyty57yyry

kiuyydidyteujey7eiryeurytriurtihtr476ft487fyttytitytuty cjdhgfhfdyfgfgtfg


(This is the pic she picked out to post up with her story... Kate, can you tell we miss you guys??!!)

Somewhere in this world...

..... a pig sprouted wings and is fluttering around ever so gaily among the butterflies in a dewy green meadow filled with daisies and tulips. And in the underworld, the little demons are enjoying a rare treat of popsicles and ice cream cake. Because.....





Butter Bean is napping. All by himself on a bed. And it's been like 30 minutes! Insane. This child sleeps great at night, but daytime sleep is a whole other story. Usually it's just ~15 minute cat naps in the sling or in my lap, and if I attempt to put him down at all, he either wakes up immediately or sleeps for about 3-7 minutes before he's wide awake again. I'm guessing it's because he did end up getting the cold his sister has, but still. It's nice for a change. And what am I doing with this precious time? I'm on the internet of course. I can hear my mother's heavy sigh now. "oh, Jackie..."

And now I hear a wakeful babe. It was fun while it lasted.

Not. Go. Ing. An. Y. Where. To. Mor. Row.

Or the next day, or the next. Suddenly the Peach is sick. Again, poor thing. This has got to be literally like the 8th time for her this season. And it seems like we've been driving here and there (looong trips mind you, not just local errands) visiting these people, picking up that person, dropping off this person. Just simply too much for a 4 month old. And unfortunately Butter Bean is not one of those babies who is lulled to sleep by a moving car. In fact he hates it. And it's only getting worse, because each time we have to drive somewhere for longer than like 10 minutes he starts to get annoyed of being in the car seat, cries, then cries harder each second that I don't rescue him from the Car Seat Of Doom. Driving back home from the mountain Easter Sunday, normally about a 1 1/2, sometimes 2 hour drive, took FOUR HOURS. We stopped five times in between hungry baby, sad baby, preschool-sized bladders, angry baby, etc. So now he pretty much associates the car seat with being neglected by mama and being miserable, and I dread any trip in the near future, even those to the grocery store. We have one trip to do for the weekend of April 5th-6th, but maybe by then we'll have done enough short in-town driving that he'll somewhat calm down about the car seat thing. Also hopefully Peach will be well again by then. Also I hope Butter Bean doesn't get sick. Gah!!! Suffice it to say that it will feel good to stay at home tomorrow and not have to get in the car at all.

Sometimes it's so hard, but...

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy. . . practice compassion. - The Dalai Lama

ummm...

Lately I've been completely obsessed with some photography projects that I've found online via flickr, etc. So far my favorite has been Seedpod's, discovered via Soule Mama. She seems to capture raw bits and pieces of nature in a warm and calming way, and I could stare at them all day. But today I discovered this. A close second, maybe even my new favorite but for very different reasons, obviously. Quite simply, very intruiging. What do you have on your person this very second? And what does that stuff say about you? What doesn't it say about you? These photos are only a teeny bit revealing, just a wee little glimpse into that individual's day or personality. Some of them are surprising, some expected, some make me wish I could have a cigarette right now. I look at them and think things like; "oh yeah, I carry around an assortment of like 472 pens/pencils and markers, too!" or "eegads... electical tape, box cutter, and, um, drill bits?! hmm." But I have to wonder, am I interesting-looking enough to be stopped on the street and asked to have my personal belongings photographed? Although I did notice that none of these people seemed to be wearing sweats, and none of the "everyday essentials" included diapers and fairy coloring books.

International Women's Day.

International Women's Day.
Everything I would have wanted to say is said better right here. Amanda's always so inspiring. List of cool links toward the bottom of the post.

Hello.