As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we will be surrounded by our handprint turkeys telling what we are thankful for.
We've been keeping a pretty low profile. Between the capacious diaper butt, the waddling walk, and the little new-walker wings:
I don't want anyone getting any crazy ideas, if ya know what I mean! All he needs is a few tail feathers. Of course, the hiney is all diaper and the breast isn't all that meaty, so I'm afraid there would be disappointment all around. And here's another picture for those who need a fix:
He's saying, "I'm so irresistable, you couldn't possibly resist giving me the shiny camera, could you? Pwetty pwease???"
I have been knitting like crazy lately, alternating between infuriating ribbing (not my favorite...I get even tenser than usual, so I tire quickly) and completely zen stockinette in the round. I am (almost simultaneously) making longies, thumbless mittens, and hat for Beeb out of this:
(to my credit, I did put him in a softer spot with a blankie after I took the picture) and then a couple of hours later as I was heading out to Charity Knitting at the Ear, Ms. Drama Llama was going to pieces, telling me that she wanted me to stay with her. I told her, "You know what? I. don't. care." and headed out to knit (again, to my credit, I liked all the kids again when I got home from knitting).
So, Mama is in the kitchen making coffee and Bug wanders in and we have the following conversation:
Bug: Hey lady!He then says something about being a mailman (which I didn't catch because I am doubled over laughing) and hands me a picture of a spider he has drawn.
Me: Hey kid!
Bug: So, what's your name? My name is [first name], but most people just call me "handsome."
Bean has declared her fifth year of life as "The Year of the Drama Llama." Just an example: Today, Daddy invited Bug and Bean to join him and walk to the playground of a nearby school. Bean respectfully declines. I point out that winter is coming and we will be spending more time inside and this would be a good chance to run around and get some fresh air. Nope, no way, no how. Fine. She stays home with me and plays while I putter. Some time later Bug and Daddy come home and Bug is reporting on his activities when Bean unhappily declares, "I never get to do anything fun!" and burst into tears. In the process of trying to talk her down, she proceeds to paraphrase (i.e. with drama ramped all the way up) all the suggestions I had given her for going. For example, the above suggestion became something along the lines of winter's coming and we are NEVER going outside again and this playground trip had been the last possible outing EVER.
Gonna be a long year...
I am happy to report that I made it to knit night, sat next to Molly Bees and the Sow's Ear is still standing! I'm still slow and limpy, but gradually improving. I did however find a surprise when I got home from Knit Night. I left behind my long-haired little baby:
and returned home to my nearly bald toddler:
Yep, Daddy got loose with the clippers again. Clearly, I need to hide the durn things every time I leave the house! However, to Daddy's credit, Bean begged to have her hair shorn as well and he refused. So Kitty Chai has escaped as well.
So, any idea what happens when a basically clumsy person on the stairs tries to hang up the dog leash, read the mail, and talk to a four-year-old at the same time? I know now. It involves a trip to urgent care, x-rays, crutches, and a couple of days with an elevated foot. Fortunately, nothing was broken or displaced, just beat up all to heck. I also have what feels like some pretty spectacular bruises on my hip (only lower and in back, but "hip" sounds so much more elegant), my elbow and my ear. I also seem to have given my hip/lower back a pretty good wrench on the way down, so thing will be a bit ouchie for a couple of days, but I'm going to live! It's already feeling much better than it did last night and my goal for the day is to be very nice to my bruises so they will be willing to accompany me to knit night tonight.
On the bright side, I have my own personal musician to keep me entertained!
This jaggety toothless jack-o-lantern smile came to us Tuesday at supper. Bug had been wiggling his first loose tooth for a while and during dinner, out it came! He is very proud of his new grin and excited about the new tooth peeking out.
We have been enjoying a spell of unseasonably warm weather (In the 70s! In November!), so we have been outside trying to soak up some warm and sun to tide us over the winter. We spent several hours at the zoo after voting on Tuesday, but I'm afraid our heat wave is coming to an end. Today is rainy and a bit cooler, but the forecast for tomorrow and Saturday is SNOW! Oh well, I can't say I complete object to more time inside and cozy, cuz that means more knitting!
Some spooky FOs...
First up, my "sketelon" dishcloth. This was the October entry in the Dish-Cloth-Along. Very cute and very seasonal!
Since most of my knitting peeps are in Ravelry, I'll refer you guys to Ravelry if you want the details and not bother with the links and lists. If you really want to know needle sizes and yarn specs and pattern details and aren't in Ravelry, let me know...
I also finished off Bug and Bean's costumes by finishing a couple of hats:
The poor felted princess hat has been languishing since January after over-felting the first try. I think the princess thinks it was worth the wait:
I also knit a second version of the pumpkin hat. The first one was too big around and not nearly long enough.
I'm much happier with this one and it is easier to navigate than the stem mask that belongs with the pumpkin costume. Plus, they can wear it all winter, too!
And some non-fiber works of art:
First up, the artistes with their complete oeuvre...
Yeah, it's pretty sunny out, the artistes are not at their most photogenic ;o)
Next, Bean's works
Bean provided artistic direction, while our friend K wielded the knife, though on the lower one Bean discovered that she could "drill" out eyes and nose by twisting the knife, so she helped.
Bug's works
He carved them himself, though I did some clean up to connect cuts and get the holes the whole way through.
And finally, a collaboration:
Beeb had this pumpkin to play with while we were working and started some preliminary carving with his teeth. From there, Bean took inspiration and made a full face with her knife. Beeb also took to the job of scooping pumpkin guts back into the jack-o-lanterns after they were carved. Mmmmmm, what texture! And almost as tasty as sand!
The brood doing assorted cute things...
Bug was cold one afternoon, so he bundled up in a sweater and made himself a bed atop the cedar chest. Looks pretty comfy to me!
Bug is up to much buggish stuff. He loves numbers and has just discovered dot-to-dots...he's been working his way through a book of them and is now doing some with 100 dots! He is also experimenting with phonics and loves finding rhyming words. He asked to start up with the Bob Books again and we are currently breezing through the second set. He wants to read since he loves books so much, but some of the brain pathways just aren't quite ready yet, but he's getting closer all the time.
Bean is very pleased with her pigtails!
She is very into dressing up with jewelry and hair-dos these days. After an enthusiastic (and very cute) start to life in pigtails, she wouldn't let me mess with her hair more than the bare minimum most days. She is very determined to learn her letters since she wants to read like her big brother. She also loves counting, but still tends to put the numbers in her own order: One, two, bree, seben... She also is very taken with the stroller she got for her birthday. She loves being a little mommy and has her "baby" close at hand much of the time (the baby she got two years ago is the baby of choice these days...bottom picture of this post).
And last, but certainly not least, the Beeb:
My little dude is turning into a toddler (sniff, sniff). He needs a haircut, but Mama isn't quite ready to part with the sweet baby hair just yet. We are getting a lot of "Oh what a cute little girl" comments. He has been walking with a walker like Great Grandma Dell for a couple of weeks now. He doesn't have a fancy one like her, but a doll stroller or a foot stool serves quite nicely thankyouverymuch. He started taking short jaunts on his own last weekend and is gaining confidence all the time. He is also getting ready for talking. He knows a couple of signs ("more" with respect to food is his favorite) and parrots back some words. Oh, and according to my little future fiberphile, all animals go "Baa," even the fish at the library.
This year for Halloween, we have a pumpkin, a princess, and a pflamingo (you know, like the pfabulous pfaucet with the pfunny name?? Didn't want Beeb to feel left out with the p-thing). We started our week of Halloweenies at the zoo, which was fun, but a bit of a disappointment compared to previous years. Here are the pumpkin and princess posing:
and our widdle flamingo hanging out with his peeps.
Bug and Beeb are both wearing hand-me-down costumes. The pumpkin has a long, sordid history. I was the pumpkin in grade school, my little brother had his turn as pumpkin, and my mom has worn it to work for Halloween. We will have to pass it along to my little brother's family when I have subjected everyone here to the pumpkin. Bean was the first Flamingo a three years ago, though that was the year that Bug and Bean ended up swapping costumes, so technically, Bug was the flamingo for trick or treating.
We have a whole week of Halloween fun going, so we will get lots of mileage out of these costumes. On Monday, our homeschool playgroup had a halloween party, so we dressed up again and made some ghoulish treats:
Finger Food, a la Molly Bees and
Mummy toes (aka monster toes). Wednesday is a Halloweenish story time at the library and Friday is Halloween!
