Month: November 2006

We Do Not Put Our Feet On Our Friends

Sarah Carolyn

We had one of Carrie’s friends over for a playdate while her mom went to an appointment this morning. It was so incredibly beautiful – in the upper 60s – and it’s supposed to become a lot more seasonal tomorrow, so I decided to put the girls in the wagon and take a walk around the block.

I learned three very important lessons:
1. The wagon is really, really hard to pull with two 25-ish pound toddlers in it.
2. No matter how roomy the foot-well looks, it’s not big enough for four toddler-sized feet.
3. When you have to stop after passing every three or so houses to remind the two toddlers that we do not put our feet on our friends it takes a really, really long time to walk around the block.

Other than that, though, the morning went really well. Until, that is, Ellie bumped her head and needed boo-boo doggy. Then, of course, Carrie had a sympathy boo-boo, and there was a little spat over who needed boo-boo doggy more…

Mambo!

Sarah Music

I went to a pre-production meeting for this years’ musical this afternoon. We’re doing West Side Story. I probably ought to Netflix it and watch it again, since the last time I saw it I was in it. (And that was…mumblesixteenmumble…years ago.)

Actually, I have a funny story about that. I was cast in the chorus (and as “A Girl”, who sings the “There’s A Place For Us” solo) as a Puerto Rican. I’m rather fair-skinned, so I had to put on brown makeup all over my face, neck, arms, and anywhere else the costume didn’t cover. The tub at home was stained brown by the end of the week. Plus, they teased my hair and put black spray-in dye in it. Ugh. It’s a miracle I didn’t have to shave my head by the end of the week, I literally broke a brush trying to comb it out one night.

I’m looking forward to doing the musical again, but scared to death about what this accompaniment is going to look like. Is it too much to hope that the piano player does more snapping than playing?

Do You Sudoku?

Sarah Carolyn

We only get the paper on the weekends and on holidays. It’s probably a bad habit and a bad example to set, but we browse through it during breakfast on the days we get it. So the other morning – Friday, I think – Carrie decided she wanted to read the paper too. We gave her a random page, which just so happened to be the page with the Sudoku puzzle on it. Well, she asked for a pencil and went to town: “Look Mommy, I draw a four!”

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For her next trick, she’ll be solving the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle!

I’m Ready For December!

Sarah Crafts

Gifts finished: 22
Gifts in progress: a couple of really small things
Gifts unstarted: maybe one other small thing?

I finished all of my original gifts. Every last one! I have a couple of little things I’ve added to the list because, well, because I can. We’ve purchased or ordered almost all the things that aren’t going to be handmade as well, so for all intents and purposes I’m ready for Christmas.

We also hung the outside wreaths and put the electric candles in the windows. All that’s left is wrapping the gifts, putting up the tree, and baking cookies with Carrie. I can’t remember ever being this far ahead of things, but it was worth all the self-imposed stress I put myself through for the past few weeks to know that I don’t have to do that in December!

However, if one more person that I’ve already made or purchased a gift for tells me that they don’t want a gift, next year I’m totally going to figure out how to make felted coal…

The Christmas Dress

Sarah Crafts

We just had the best photo shoot ever with Carrie. She adores her Christmas dress, so much so that she wanted to wear it to bed tonight. I think she’s also pretty happy that her “baby” has a coordinating dress:


I am very pleased with how this dress came out, even with all of the issues with fit. This is the same pattern company as last year’s dress, and we really had the same problems last year, but the dress didn’t look quite so huge because it was in a fabric with more drape to it. So next year maybe I’ll try to find something from a different company!

Twenty-Five Months Old

Sarah Monthly Updates

Dear Carolyn,

I couldn’t decide whether to continue writing these monthly letters – it seems like an odd thing to count months once you’re two years old. But on the other hand, I really enjoy looking back at all the things you’ve done on a monthly basis over the past two years. So, I’ll keep writing as long as you keep doing fun and interesting stuff, OK?

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If we had any doubt that you turned two last month…well, there’s no doubt at all – you tell everyone you see “I be two!” if they even glance in your direction for half a second. You’ve also started suffering from the “if it wasn’t my idea I refuse to do it” syndrome, the “if it’s on my plate and isn’t at least 97% carbohydrates I won’t eat it” virus, and the “I want to do it myself and if I can’t I will go completely limp/stiffen all my limbs/have a complete and utter meltdown” disease. In other words, you’re two years old!

Right now your most very favorite show to watch is Sesame Street. Practically before we even finish breakfast you start pleading to watch it. Obviously you know I’m at my weakest in the morning before my coffee kicks in, and as long as we don’t have to be anywhere at a particular time that morning I usually let you watch it. Hey, it’s more time for me to drink coffee and clean up breakfast! (Although I do have to admit…I really love Sesame Street too and I watch it with you more often than not.) You love to try the things they show, so when the Count introduced the number of they day by showing a little girl hopping on one foot 11 times you decided you would hop on one foot. You stand in a doorway, hold on to the frame, pick up one foot and swing it back and forth while you count. It’s really quite charming.

Speaking of counting, it’s really funny how you count now: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20! It’s actually pretty impressive that you know there are numbers past 20, even if you don’t know what they are. You also love to use my retractable tape measure to measure things, and everything is “two-four-nine” long, whether it’s my nose or the dogs’ tails.

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You desperately want to be all grown up. You beg me for coffee in the morning (no, I don’t give it to you – the last thing you need is caffeine!) and tote a purse around when we shop. If I ask you if you’re my baby, you say “No, Mommy! I a little girl!” I know how badly you want to be grown up, but baby, stay little as long as you can. There’s so much time to be a grown up and so little time to be a baby!

Love, Mommy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sarah General

I’m relaxing my no unprotected photos of Carrie rule for the day to illustrate what I’m truly thankful for today: my family!

Myself, Carrie, our cousin Benny and my mom making pumpkin pie last night:

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(And those were the best pumpkin pies ever, cheater crusts and all! I guess that many hands stirring the filling makes it taste better.)

My great-great-aunt Amy reading Carrie her Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks book:

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(And for anyone looking for a nice way to introduce a toddler to the concept of Thanksgiving – not the history – it’s a really cute read despite the somewhat inane title.)

There are lots of other people in my family (and here I’m counting all of my very good friends as well) that I’m thankful for, of course!

What are you thankful for today?

Rip or Wrap?

Sarah Knitting

This could be a new game show! I have the following for your consideration:
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The face cloth on the left has been knitted 1.5 times. I was able to get the suggested gauge on the suggested needles. The reason I ripped it out halfway through was because (believe it or not) it was even more monstrously ugly, huge and crooked than it is now, so I went down a needle size. The face cloth on the right is more what I was going for (and is a different pattern). I am willing to give that one as a gift and actually sign my name to the card.

But unless someone comes up with a really compelling reason to not rip out the other one – such as “I have an incredibly frightening purple face cloth that looks exactly like that and I couldn’t possibly live without it!” – I’m going to enlist my mom’s help to rip out all 4 hours (that includes the ripping and re-knitting I’ve already done) of ugly knitting and re-knit that yarn with the other pattern.

I think it’s the (slight but important) difference between giving a “handmade” gift and a “homemade” gift.

And while we’re at it, does anyone have any suggestions for really fancy soaps or lotions that aren’t highly scented, as I don’t know the recipient’s preferences for fragrances?

Precocious is a Kind of Circle

Sarah Carolyn

At breakfast this morning Murphy was begging for Carrie’s bagel, so I told him to lay down. Carrie followed that up with a stern “Stay!” – which is a command we don’t use, we use “Wait!” instead, so she got that somewhere else (a book maybe?)

I laughed and said, “You’re pretty precocious, aren’t you? Do you know what ‘precocious’ means?”

Carrie’s reply? “It’s a kind of circle!” Then, after laughing hysterically for a bit she said, “I funny, Mommy!”

I think she was making a joke…

Pass The Bandaids

Sarah Crafts

You know it’s time to put down the sewing and go to bed when:

1. You poke your needle into the fabric for safe-keeping so you have both hands to adjust the button you’re trying to sew.
2. You grab the fabric, causing the needle to poke into your finger.
3. You let go in surprise (what is that needle doing there?) and move the needle over a bit.
4. Repeat step 2.
5. You decide that having the needle in the fabric is too dangerous, and that moving it to your mouth might be safer.
6. In the process of moving the needle to your mouth, you poke yourself in the chin hard enough to draw blood.

Um. Yeah. I think it’s time to put everything away and go to bed before I poke any more odd holes in my face!