Oh bribery, Let me count the ways

Sorry I haven't been here in a while. Sometimes life with three kids, a husband, and two newlywed hermit crabs gets a little nuts. Our summer can be summed up in one word " BLUR". Seriously, I found a red and orange maple leaf near our mailbox this afternoon. Time sure flies when you are spending your afternoons searching under every surface for a glitter enhanced hermit crab.  Or when you have to ask the pediatrician what day it is, you know things are getting a little hairy on the calendar. And I don't mean number, I mean Wednesday? Or no no it's Friday, I'm certain that it's Friday. TUESDAY?!?!? Oh come on!! People are right though, the older we get, the faster it goes. the more lives we are eternally responsible for, the faster your brain turns to mush. Again, the worlds way of never letting you realize it may be easier to jump ship with your husband and leave the kids at Nana's for a few days/weeks/years. As summer is withering by, our oldest is getting ready for kindergarten. Wasn't I just rocking you to sleep ten minutes ago?! How the hell did 5 1/2 years go by? She also has her first loose tooth, and Grace being Grace, is milking it for all it's worth. I'm serious, she's literally walking around the house singing " Ow, Ow, ow, oww, Owwwww" to the tune of row row row your boat.(Watch out Alcott, you got a ripe one comin!) This thing is hanging on by a thread, and all I want to do is yank the thing out, and get it over with. I spent hours last week knitting her a pillow in the shape of a molar for the tooth fairy. This is worse than waiting to go into labor. AND SHE HAS 19 LEFT TO GO!!! I have tried everything, bribery, money, pleading, sneaking up on her with dental floss(ok, not yet, but it may result in that) nada. I'm sick of looking at that thing, but she is so stubborn she'll leave it in until her wedding day. I came downstairs at 5:30am and found her eating mint chocolate chip ice cream with fudge and whip cream. "What are you doing?!?!?" "God Mom, its obviously for my TOOTH" Yeah, I guess if you want to rot the next ones out, that's the way to go. But that's what I love so much about her. She is the type of girl you never have to worry about. I mean, of course I'm constantly worrying, night and day, in the grocery line, and everywhere in between, but Grace can hold her own. She currently wants to live in the laundry room, make it her own apartment, and eat in her" loft". May I remind you she is 5! It's also pretty incredible watching her grow into a school age child. Watching her wipe blueberries off Cams face when she thinks I'm not looking, or consoling her sister when I make my weekly knitting trek a literal half mile down the road. "It's ok Hannah, when I miss mommy and daddy I look at this picture and it makes me feel better". It shows me we are raising her into a wonderful, spirited, smart, and sensible girl. What more could we ask for? OK I ask for one thing, if that tooth isn't out by Sunday I'm getting the pliers, then I'll take her out for an ice cream.

Friends and family

I just got home from my knitting group. I always feel happy, rejuvenated, and calm when I get home. This feeling only lasts until I get into the driveway, but hey, it's worth it! I started going to the Main St. knitters a few years ago. I have to say these women have become like sisters to me. So my lovely knitting friends, this post is for you. I have to say up front, that I honestly don't know what I would do without them. They are all a little different in their knitting and their ways,  But one thing we all share? An undying love for the art of yarn. I look forward to my Thursday mornings with them each week. It's the only time I am "childless" all week. We have all developed such a close relationship with each other since we started meeting a few years ago. They have in a way become my second family. A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine brought me pizza for my family because she knew I wasn't feeling well. Two others gave me a bunch of yarn for a blanket I am working on. Needless to say they are always there for me, and I always for them. They are mothers, nurses, brave cancer survivors, grandmothers, teachers, friends, and everything in between. I have had a few rough patches this year. My father passed away, we moved, and I'm dealing with a disease that disrupts my life all the time. They are always there for me, ready to lend a hand, some scissors, or a stitch marker. And for that I thank all of you from the bottom of my stash :)
 I won't be posting for a few days, my mom and I are going on a knitting/reading/sleep when ever we feel like it retreat to VT. I bet I'll have some great stories for you when I get back!

My five year old, the bag lady

Ever see that movie Home Alone in New York? Of course you have, and if you haven't, you tube it. My daughter Grace is going to be the pigeon feeding bag lady. She has become OBSESSED with plastic bags, and filling them with everything and anything that will go in them. Hold on, I'll grab one and we can look through it together. Ok, this one (there are many) was next to the stairs. There is:
1. First of all, it's a Bobs bag- we don't even go there so how she got it is beyond me
2. The Spaghetti boots-y'all know how that one turned out
3. " Hello Kitty's Guide to everything nice"- She put that in to derail me from her real motives
4. A remote control- I bet she's trying to turn off her sister again- it never works, but she still trys at least once a day
5. A Receipt from the bank that just made me cry- having kids sure is getting expensive
I wonder where this hoarding behavior is coming from, at least she's not keeping deli meat in her closet, or keeping her toenail clippings in a jar, but these things tend to freak me out. A few days ago she buried a stuffed animal in her garden to give it a proper burial. It turned out to be HANNAH'S stuffed cat "Buster"- not cool Grace, not cool. She is such a funny, wonderful, and much wise behind her years kinda girl. I remember looking at her in the nursery after she was born. Poor Brian and I had been through hours of agony, tears of terror, pain, and joy. Yet there she was, all the other swaddled babies sleeping peacefully, and Grace wide eyed and bushy tailed just waiting to get into trouble. I could just see her thinking" When I figure out a way to work these arms, my parents are screwed" All I know is, I'll never have to worry about her coming gome from school crying because some kid hurt her feelings. She's the type that will give it right back and get a standing ovation from the kids on the bus.

The possibilities are endless- or so you think

 The beauty of walking into a yarn shop are the possibilities. It's sort of like an art store for a painter, a hardware catalog for a woodworker. When we knitters walk into a yarn shop, The possibilities are endless- or so you think. You may see this delicious skein of mohair, or cashmere and think of the delicate intricate lace shawl you can conjure up for your grandmother. Or the sturdy sky blue cotton in the corner that would be just perfect for that baby hat. The problem with us knitters? sometimes our imaginations get us into trouble. We conjure up these perfected projects in our minds without thinking of reality. The time it takes, the skill that may be involved, even the difficulty of the pattern. Sooo my friends, this is where the "stash" comes in. For those of you that don't knit, the stash is a place in the closet, bedroom, under cabinets, and occasionally in the freezer where we stash our yarns. It's sort of like squirrels collecting for winter. We knitters have this need for new yarn, and honestly, most of us  no I'm sorry, ALL of us can't control it. I have been much better about buying skeins, and only working on one project at a time, but if I had it my way, my days would be spent dreaming up patterns, then running out of the house at mock speed to find the perfect yarn to go with it. In the end, the longer you have been knitting, the bigger your stash becomes. It can surprise you though, sometimes the perfect pairing of pattern, needle, and fiber can be right in your closet
(or freezer) just pull the wool off your eyes and look:) Actually, I take all that back, It's way more fun to go to the LYS and buy all those pretty skeins in the window. If I listen really closely  I can hear them calling my name right now...... Consider it my way of helping with the recession.

picture courtesy of knitterlythings.com

Why didn't I think of this before?

I gave my three children spaghetti for lunch today- this was my first mistake- the second mistake was the sauce. now before you go and judge me and say "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!? Spaghetti and rice are a mom and brooms worst nightmare!!" I know, I know, but the 5 year old gave me the puppy eyes, and I caved. "Please for the love of all things Holy Grace don't take your bowl from the table" I must have said it ten times. Of course in this house my children don't speak the language of mom, or listen to it for that matter- I turn my back for ONE second and her entire bowl of sauce, cheese, meatball, and mess roll all over the floor, into her boots(I'm not joking), and all over poor Cameron. "You are cleaning up this entire mess!! What did I tellllllll you?!?!?!?!?" Well she did clean it up, but she cleaned it up like a five year old would. Needless to say, it looked like Barilla and Prego got into a fist fight in my kitchen. Cameron was so ready for a nap, and me putting him down was like a 13 year old putting down the Justin Beiber feature in TeenyBop-NOT happening. So I improvised.... I stuck two swiffer pads to each shoe and skated around my kitchen like Nancy Kerrigan. I got a great work out(again, not joking here!) and the girls thought it was the greatest thing in the world! We strapped those bad boys onto our shoes and had a dance party, best of all that kitchen floor hasn't been that clean since it was installed! Guess we'll be dancing in the kitchen more often! Now if only I could figure out a way to strap the vacuum to my kids and we'll be golden

It's too early for this

My three children have already been up over an hour. The breakfast rush is over, the sleepy eyes are now bright, yet it is only 6:52am on a Monday morning. The question of my existence?? What to do the next 12 hours! I wish I had the luxury of those few moms who have children that sleep past 5:30(I'm sorry, what's that? never heard of it) I'm lucky though, my husband let's me sleep in on the weekends-7:30 to us is bliss! Yet when the clock hits 5 on Monday morning I have a weekend sleep hangover. Friends and family have told me "Don't worry! Soon they will sleep until noon, and you will have to drag them out of bed!" I can't wait for that day, and honestly, I probably be sleeping until then too! Ok- no- back to reality, I won't be sleeping. I'll be washing Cam's football uniform, and baking brownies for Hannah's bake sale, and bailing Grace out of jail.( Just kidding sweetheart, I love you-but seriously chill out on the stealth mode moves, you are starting to scare me) I have to laugh sometimes at those with no kids, claiming all the stresses on their lives, and how their dogs are their children. Oh you just wait my friends- up hold on, Hannah just colored on the couch-the time outs have already started and it's barely 7am! " I'm ready to be nice!!!!" she is yelling out me, Your not the mom Grace!!! Mom!!, Tell her you are the mom MOM!!!!" It's gonna be a lonnnng day. See, this is what DINK(Dual income no kids) don't get. They claim to- but they don't. See they can leave on the drop of a hat, a weekend trip to the Cape honey? Sure why not we deserve it!! Ha! Yeah right, Brian and I consider a "weekend getaway" as a trip to the grocery store with only one child and not all three!! I do have an upside though, I had my kids early. So technically while they are all out until 2am partying, and I am up at two am feeding a nine month old we are semi equal. Until that day in their 30's comes along when they have children of their own, I'll be sleeping allllllll night and they will STILL be up until 2am. I love them all and egg them all on to have babies though, and you know why? Because no matter how tired I say I am, or how stressing it may be to have three children under the age of five, I LOVE BABIES. I love their smell, their smiles, and everything about them as they grow up into their own personalities. Each day is like opening a wonderful(sometimes a little smelly) present. And I wouldn't trade a day of this chaos for a weekend on the cape any day. OK, OK with a little nudge, maybe one night away would be nice :)

The idea of my lifetime-So far

I was watering our germinating marigolds this morning with Grace (Our five year old), when I thought to my self, why not add a millionth thing to my to do list and start a blog! I ran outside to tell my husband, and he scoffed it off thinking it may just be another hairbrained idea of mine. ( Like going to the gym, keeping up with the laundry, or actually getting to things on time.. I'm still working on all those) But the truth is, it's a virtual world out there, and I want something my kids can read twenty years from now and it not smell like moth balls, or been ruined in a flood. I also loved the idea of being able to remember-uh hold on one is yelling at the other! Ahh yes, where was I? Oh yeah, preserving these wonnnnnderful yet chaotic days of stay at home Moms. I love where I'm at in life, a little extra sleep would be helpful, but honestly, who needs it right? I also wanted to be able to jot down the funny and cute things our kids do and say ( Like last month when Hannah our two year old jumped out of her crib to fly like buzzlight year, resulting in a trip to the ER-she was A-ok and a funny story to tell her later in life) I also Love knitting, and wanted a place to share my work, love and frustration with the art-yes the art!! So I'll write when I have the time, and a funny story to share, but for now I have a pile of dishes to attend to!