MommyCoddle

This Is What Happens...

This is what happens when mommy tries to take a shower, leaving the girls to fend for themselves. Emma told me she was showing Mary her homework. I won't even tell you the number of programs she had open when I finally sat down to see the damage. My father is probably cringing as he reads this! Maybe when we finally get rid of this beast of a computer it will become Emma's "homework 'puter".

The last few days have been very busy. I didn't even realize until yesterday evening that I completely forgot about self-portrait Tuesday. I hope to be back next week. The reason behind the busyness is that my mother is coming to town this evening for a visit. I have not seen her since Christmas so I am looking forward to it. I'm especially looking forward to her shock at how much the girls have changed since she saw them last. We have lots that we are trying to squeeze in--antique shopping, a quaint little restaurant I've been wanting an excuse to try, a visit to the art museum and a new knitting shop, movies and cups of tea....I'm looking forward to some time for all of us to be together.

Oh, and another hat is up in my etsy shop. Then the next one I knit is a custom order. After that Emma is requesting some slippers and "just a set of pompoms" like the ends of the hats I make.

Could Be Genetic

So yesterday I posted twenty random things about myself. One of which was that I like dressing in layers.  Could there possibly be a dominant gene for layer-dressing? This is the outfit Emma selected for errand-running today: navy wool tights, polka dot sundress, sleeveless tshirt, longsleeve pink cotton dress, yellow surfer Tshirt. I had nothing to do with this. At least not directly...
(this is also where she wanted to "pose" for her photoshoot. hmmm...am i getting the camera out a little too often?)

Twenty Random Things About Me:

I was tagged by Heather at FourSweetPeas to write "Twenty Random Things About Me." This was very hard, especially after reading how interesting others were. So far I've read one from heather and andrea. They were both fantastic. I wanted them to write a blog entry about each one.
Many of mine are random stories, but still tell you a little bit about me--Although I feel like I've changed so much in the last three years. Anyway, here goes:

1. I was the queen of the county fair my sophomore year of high school. I thought I was very cool.
2. When I was in preschool I got a black eye on the monkey bars. They called my mom to come and pick me up to take me home and on the way out of the school room, she slammed my fingers in the door.
3. I am going to homeschool my children.
4. I love dressing in layers. I feel skinnier in layers (go figure) and my black fleece vest is part of my daily uniform.
5. This one's for Andrea: When I was in elementary school I was a cheerleader for soccer(??). There was a cheer that said, "molly's my name, soccer's my game, boy's are on my mind, ______'s my sign." My mom didn't want me to say my horoscope sign, so she had me say, "Jesus is my sign." I was embarrassed at first, but my cheerleading coach was also my sunday school teacher, so she was very proud of me.  My sister and brother-in-law still make me do this cheer sometimes when they see me.
6. I am addicted to diet coke and air popped popcorn. I used to be addicted to diet coke and einstein bagels, but now the closest einstein's is an hour away.
7. I can play the clarinet really, really well. But it is sitting in my closet. I have played it twice since emma was born and totally "wowed" her. She tells me she wants to play the clarinet someday too.  I'm secretly hoping she'll play the mandolin so that I can have an excuse to learn it too.
8. I love bluegrass. This comes from my father. I think I feel close to him when I listen to it and it reminds me of driving in the car with him when I was younger, having it playing softly on the radio.
9. I hate being the last one to fall asleep at night. When I was little, I shared a room with my sister and I would say, "don't go to sleep yet, I'm still awake. Wait for me to fall asleep." Now I do that with Dan. If I hear him mark the place in his book and reach for the light, I scramble to put my book away too and get to sleep before him. But, I'm getting better at this as I get older.
10. My appendix ruptured when I was in high school. My mom thought the pains were the stomach flu. I knew something serious was wrong with me but I was too scared to know what it was so I didn't want to go to the doctor--until the pain was so bad I didn't care what happened to me.
11. If I had a quarter for every time I think about my weight/weight loss/body each day, I wouldn't be in debt.
12. I cheated on my boyfriend in college. When I told my mom that I felt like a slut for kissing another boy, she said, "it's no big deal. When I was your age, I went on a hayride and held hands under the blanket with the boy on my right and the boy on my left."
13. Three years ago my husband's father and brother died in a car accident. It was the most traumatic, horrible, sad, helpless thing I've ever been through. Life got very very hard for awhile. And I admit that I showed a lot more weakness and selfishness than I care to think about. But I do believe ( I know) that Dan and I are closer, stronger and more in love with each other for going through such a difficult time together. And, I praise God that I know-- beyond the shadow of a doubt --that I will see his father and brother again before our heavenly Father.
14. When I was little I played on a TBall team. On opening day, we had to walk out on the field when they called our name over the loud speaker. I was afraid to walk out by myself. My mom said either walk out there, or quit. I quit.
(believe it or not, I grew up to be a very confident person who isn't shy at all when it comes to being in front of large crowds.)
15. I am obsessed with pens. I am very picky about which pens I will use. I hate ball point pens or any pen that writes with a thin, scratchy line. I like them to flow smoothly across the page and write with a strong, thick line. When I was an elementary school teacher, I would write my name on all my pens because Ididn't want anyone to take or borrow one of them. They were carefully selected and not for the general population. Now for my daily bill-mailing, check-signing, list-making needs, I prefer the Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink Pen with .7mm tip. It is superb.
16. I strongly believe that my husband is a yet-to-be-discovered talent. (he will hate that I'm writing this.) He is an amazing thinker with amazing ideas. He is one of the best writers I have ever read. He is one of the best teachers I have ever listened to. He is full of simple, practical, logical wisdom that provides clarity to life. Sometimes when he tells me something he has been thinking about, or I read something he has written, I can' t believe the profound ideas that he has expressed.  I pray (I really do) that one day God will give him some type of outlet to share all these wonderful, enlightening, wise,  ideas with other people besides his little old wife.
17. When I was little I used to do forward flips on the playground with all the other girls. One day I hit my head against the concrete sidewalk when I was flipping. I got tunnel vision and had a horrible headache. When we came inside from recess I put my head down on my desk and cried quietly into my arms. It was the first time I had ever cried at school. My teacher finallys aw me and sent me home. From that day on, I have feared all forms of tumbling and gymnastics. It was always the most traumatic part of gym class for me. I didn't even learn to do a cartwheel until I was forced to do them for highschool volleyball practices.
18. I miss my family in Maryland tremendously. Living here in Wisconsin with my husband's family has not been as hard as I thought, but I still miss "home". I know moving here was the right decision, but I hope we'll be able to move east very soon.
19. Last week at Emma's last day of toddler art class they did face painting. Then Emma decided to paint my face too. When I looked in the mirror she told me she had decided to paint a bright red, letter "A" on my cheek. I had to wash it off before I went to the grocery store. What would people think?
20. I think I'm a good singer in a folk-y voice kind of way--not in a professionally trained sort of way.
For the record:
21. I hate saying things about myself that seem like bragging. (ie. #19, #7...oops I mean #20 thanks, Laura)

Every Family Needs One of These:

Surfing Capital of the Midwest??

Until recently, Dan and I were not aware that the town we live in--Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is considered the surfing capital of the midwest. And even more strange, autumn marks the beginning of the freshwater lakes surfing season. Like little black ants, the surfers, covered  head to toe in wetsuits dot the lake whenever the waves pick up. Sometimes, I think the surfing is just an excuse for them to stand around on the shore, haning out and drinking a few beers. Either way, we always love it when we take the lake road home and there are guys in the water. Today I just happened to have my camera along, so I was able to catch a few shots. I was too shy to get out of my car and take pictures of these strangers, so I opted for digital zoom instead. The last picture is of a cameraman who was filming the surfers. Maybe they're working on another movie like this one . Watching the surfers is definitely a perk to living on Lake Michigan. Who knew, when we moved to Wisconsin, that we'd be watching surfing from the shore?

Emma's Self Portrait Tuesday 10.18

Final Days of Art Class
Originally uploaded by mommycoddle.

I am going to opt-out of self-portrait tuesday today. Today is just too busy, and I'm too tired to try to think of different ways to photograph myself. Plus, to be accurate it would probably be another collage of housework, and I think we've all seen enough of "molly cleans her house".
So, since today was emma's last day of art class, I thought it was appropriate that she be the stand-in for SPT.
This is emma's second time taking toddler art. It is advertised as being for two and three year olds. And I definitely think Emma outgrew it this time around. Last week, we didn't even go. She was much more interested in all the preschool parephenalia in her classroom than the painting. Although she was very drawn to the clay table. That is where she spent most of her time. Perhaps tomorrow, I will photograph her final glazed clay creations.

Off To A New Home

I think it was just a few days ago that I posted about wondering if anyone ever had success selling on etsy. The next day, I sold my first sutton hoo ! Heather from foursweetpeas  bought it for her daughter stella. It is off in the mail to its new home in california. thanks heather!

A Glimpse of Perfection

Every so often I get a glimpse of perfection. Tonight I was busy in the kitchen making dinner and I realized that I hadn't heard any noises from my children in quite awhile. When I finally found them, they were snuggled like this on the chair.  Emma was reading (singing actually) to Mary who was enthralled with her older sister's attention. It was too good to be true.  If only these delicate moments occured more often-- but then perhaps they wouldn't be quite so precious.

I feel like it has been quite awhile since I posted pictures and that there is much to write about. Last week marked the third anniversary of the loss of my husband's father and brother. They passed away in a car accident in 2002. Since then it has been a  tradition for all of Dan's family to spend that day together, including a trip to the local pumpkin farm.  Emma always marks the beginning of fall by the trip to the pumpkin farm. And we do it up while we're there---pony rides, hay rides, pumpkins and gourds for all.

 

I enjoy watching my children enjoy their time at the pumpkin farm, but there is always this tinge of remorse when I am there. I hate that I have to drive somewhere and pay money for my children to experience the things that were every day occurences for me when I was growing up. I hate paying two dollars for emma to sit on a pony that walks in a small circle inside a barn for three minutes. I hate paying fifty cents for a dixie cup filled with grain to feed a menagerie of goats and sheep. I hate paying six dollars for a bright orange pumpkin from someone else's garden. But, this is life for now. And maybe someday God will bless our family with the opportunity to experience all of these things as a part of our everyday life. In the meantime, I'll turn over my dollars in exchange for experience and entertainment and hopeully help another farmer protect his opportunity.

Fall Goodness in the Kitchen

There are so many great things that are just begging to be baked at this time of year. I think every family has their own version of pumpkin bread, but even so, I thought I'd share my family's recipe. Someone always makes it for Thanksgiving each year and every piece seems to disappear. I  started bringing to my in-law's Thanksgiving meals, and now I think they look forward to it every year. Sometimes, I just can't wait until Turkey Day to break out a few batches.
I added a few new things to mommycoddle yesterday evening--new pictures in every photo album, including some new albums: In The Kitchen and Craftiness.  I also added photos of new knitting projects I'm working on. I am hoping to post recipes a little more often, too. I also added a link to my etsy shop. (the button is tiny--I'm working on it.) It still only has the two Sutton Hoo's, but I'm hoping to add some more things as I get them finished. If the hats don't sell soon, my girl's will luck out. They are getting a decent number of views, but no sales. I'm wondering if anyone has real success on etsy, or if crafty people just go there searching for ideas. But anyway, I'm also thinking of adding the eric carle inspired caterpillar if it doesn't go as a gift to a friend....we'll see. The buttons make me a little bit nervous. I will probably embroider the features next time.
Below is my recipe. I always love finding new things to try in the kitchen. I hope you enjoy this. (3 cups of sugar....hmm...has to be good!)

Self Portrait Tuesday 10.11

  Soothing Sick Babes 
  Originally uploaded by mommycoddle.

This has been my weekend/week so far--soothing two sick children. Emma would have been included in these photos, too--but she was already taking her nap. I think Emma's cold comes from her crazy weekend at Grandma's house. She didn't go to sleep until 11pm. My mother-in-law said there were just so many things concerning her--lights on, doors open, missing sippy cups, blankets falling off....so now she is run down and very congested. She's breathing like a fish out of water, gaping for breath.
Mary is also battling the same thing. Maybe because the two of them can't resist sharing yogurt from the same spoon, or the wooden train whistle, or picking up a random cup of juice left on the counter and taking a swig...
I'm looking forward to getting my healthy girls back soon.

Separation Anxiety

I always understood that separation anxiety was something that babies and young children experienced.  I did not realize that I would suffer from it at the age of twenty-nine.
This afternoon, I packed up Emma for her first night away from home. She is spending the night at her grandmother's house with several of her cousins-four to be exact. (sometimes I think my suspicsions are true--my mother in law is crazy.)
In the past, when my mother in law has invited her to sleep over, she has always quickly declined saying that it was "too scary" or that she "really just liked to sleep in her own bed." As much as I want to encourage a little independence, silently my heart was glowing at her desire to stay safe, snuggled and comfortable at home.
So when she invited her this time, for an evening filled with pizza, and a morning filled with waffles and chocolate milk and a trip to the toy store (see, she IS crazy), emma just couldn't turn it down.
Now, I have given Emma several outs and examples of back-up plans to get her out of the whole affair--just play and stay for dinner, i'll pick you up at bedtime, daddy will come get you after you fall asleep...all my frantic attempts at tempting her to stay home have failed.
Perhaps, I am the crazy one. Shouldn't I be able to pack her up with a smile and send her on her little way, toting her brightly colored wheel-y suitcase and pillow? Shouldn't I be relishing a night without a two-hour procedure to get emma to bed? Nope. Not me. Not tonight.
I've dropped her off, given her kisses, whispered in her ear that mommy will come get you early if you don't want to spend the night. And she happily let me go and was off doing dot-to-dots before I got to my car. When did this happen? When did she get so old? When did I get so attached? (the answer to that one--the day I saw two lines on the little white stick.)
So it's done. She's there. She's happy, I'm sure. On the car ride over I told her that we were going to watch Daddy learn to surf tomorrow with Uncle Ryan. And she officially announced that she would be unable to attend since she would be staying at Grandma's house for weeks and weeks.
She put the knife in to me and twisted it a few times.  The pains of motherhood are often great.

For Caleb...

My nephew, Caleb, has been asking for pictures of Otis, my mother-in-laws puppy. She bought him from Caleb's family. When I look at these pictures, I realize that Otis is much bigger now.  So Caleb, I will update again soon, but here are a few for now.

Feels Like Fall

Yesterday we were dancing in the sprinkler, today we are bundled in jeans and fleece. Everyone is saying that fall has officially arrived. Today just felt like the kind of day to make a scarecrow and put out some mums. Emma has named him Grace. She stayed with me for the stuffing at first but then the temptation of spreading hay all over the back yard was too strong. There is so much hay strewn around I feel compelled to plant grass seed or something. But sometimes, even though you know your children are making a huge mess that YOU will have to clean up, it would just be too mean to stop them--i.e. spreading half a bale of hay around the grass, raking it up, jumping in it, spreading it around again...

Cashmere from cows?

I got this forwarded in an email from some knitting friends. It completely cracked me up. A very good laugh for today:

Download Vid_BlondesLACountyFair_fk_1.mpg

Self Portrait Tuesday 10.04

A little dose of reality today for self-portrait tuesday. Deep, damp piles of laundry are calling to me. Dan is frustrated because he hasn't been able to find his "good jeans" for the last few weeks. They are probably keep getting buried, when new dirty clothes get thrown in on top of them. I have yet to reach the bottom of the pile.
I didn't even realize that the vaccuum cleaner was in the background of this picture. But it is rather appropriate too.

For other self-portrait tuesday photos check out this link: