Did you know that rain was falling from the sky in Snarkville? Oh yes, it is. Seems that winter has finally hit and the TV stations are a twitter, what with all the sky falling and badness. But this isn’t about the rain falling from the sky — this is about Frankenhouse. (more…)
…like today I know I am truly loved. (more…)
On our way to pick up bagels:
Duke: Mama, we are doing teamwork.
(Teamwork is something they are teaching them at school and I’m thrilled to see he brings it home with him.)
Me: Yes, Buddy, we are doing teamwork.
Duke: We’re a good team.
Me: The best.
Duke: Mama and Duke ROCK.
Me: Yes, we do.
(Then I cried with joy and wondering if I could eat him up because he would taste much better than a bagel.)
Duke: Mama, don’t be sad.
Me: Buddy, I’m not sad. I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes Mama cries when she’s happy and you saying that we ‘ROCK’ just made me happy.
<SNIFFLE>
Duke: Ok. Now, can we turn right, PLEASE??
Last year, I went to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak. She said something that stuck with me and rolled around in my head until finally there is room for the blog post to push forward.
Paraphrase of what she said: “If I hear one more time ‘This isn’t your grandmother’s knitting.’ I’m going to ask ‘How do you figure and why are your insulting my grandmother?’ My grandmother was a damn fine knitter and this *IS* her knitting.”
Oh, there was more about the connectedness of knitting to our past and the importance of it all. But the part that just rolled around in my head is that this knitting thing I do. This pulling string into knots making fabric. This thing IS no different than what my grandmother, my great grandmother and even her mother did. There’s probably a few grandfathers along the way who knit a bit too — but I am not sure. But the part I’m not saying is that shorty after I heard those words, my grandmother passed away. (more…)
Duke has discovered monsters. Oh sure, there was this brief experience, but I think that was more because of a commercial than a real understanding of the scariness that is monsters. Now, you need to know that Duke has no real fear of monsters, in that he doesn’t think they will take him away, eat him, or even steal his covers. He has much more of a sibling relationship with monsters (not that Prince and I have given birth to monsters, either — but you get my point). He doesn’t want monsters in his room, probably because he’d rather they not get to play with his toys while he sleeps, I think. (Every so often he decides he doesn’t want a cat or a dog in his room either. I think this is more about declaring his space than actual dislike.)
So, need less to say, monsters are fun to talk about and we talk about them a lot. Mostly it is fun and giggles, but every so often I notice that Duke is more than a little concerned. Normally, I take the chance to grab him up and whisper in his ear that I’m here to keep him safe and as long as mommy and daddy are here we will keep him safe. (I also told him that Mommy sprays for monsters and put special tape around the house to keep monsters away.) (more…)
What an amazing word “ask” is. It is a word with power that reminds us all that should we need anything, we need only “ask.” I’ve known my whole life the importance of ‘asking,’ because often the sheer act of the asking is the hardest step in the process of ‘getting.’ Never in my 34 years thought that the little, three letter word ‘ask’ would have the power to change my life — yup, I’m feeling a little over-dramatic, why? (more…)
I have spent half my weekend in bed. Seems I have veritgo (which is completely different than ‘being dizzy’ according to Dr. Google). Techincally, I had an inner ear infection, but after 24 hours in bed praying for the world to JUST.STOP.MOVING. (and oh, since nothing else was really wrong with me, I was HUNGRY, but couldn’t face food since it is oh, so very hard to eat while laying on your side.)
So, late afternoon Sunday, I called my doctor, my doctor who has his home and cell phone numbers on his office voicemail. (I think he needs a service, but I also know that the majority of his clients are older and he is more of the old fashioned family doctor. I really like him, but not enough that I want to chat with him on Sundays.) I called, he told me he didn’t think I needed to go to the ER (YIPPIE.) and come see him at noon the next day. I woke up at 5am Monday morning, NOT dizzy. Natch. So, I go to the doctor and I’m diagnosed with “something that was probably an inner ear infection, we should watch for more episodes to see if we need to look further.” (Oh, and I was told that while he was thrilled I cared about my health, perhaps Dr. Google wasn’t the best place for me.)
So, since I’ve been down for a bit (and yes, I’m better now, but still afraid to stand up, since I’m just not convinced it won’t come back), I offer you randomness… (more…)
Happy New Year, everyone. (even if it is three days late.)
I’ve been reading up in the blog world, the posts of the year in review (and can I just say, wow. I read most of these people daily — more than in my sidebar, sorry, I should fix that — and to see what happened in summary was shocking) and then all of the “I resolve…” posts. There are MANY new resolutions in the blog world and very few of them involve more chocolate, go figure. I have a feeling that one of the most ambitious ones will be Chris who, with her husband and 7 kids, will not be buying anything for a year (to be fair, the needed food and basics yes; but nothing that collects dust or is ‘optional’).
I get where Chris is coming from. Prince is scared by this about me. I go through periods in my life where I wish to pare down our lives. I’m not talking about going Amish, folks. I mean weed out the clutter. My friend Jasmin is doing it as a sanity plan — or to help her sleep. She rid herself of a wedding dress, a spinning wheel, countless sweaters, and even socks. I think the dress went to Goodwill, but the other items went to other people who, from my understanding, could not be happier. That’s the reallocation of the stuff — (more…)