i (nearly) did it

i missed a couple of posts, but I do have close to 30 posts in 30 days.. Yeah me. 

The Give Away

You have about 12 hours to enter the give away if you havent yet. The winner will be announced tomorrow night. I know you all can't wait. I'm looking forward to making the cool thing that you tell me to make! 

If you're reading this and youre like, whats she talking about go here: Click me!

Holiday Spirit

me (looking puffy) and e: he wanted to get down

So I have a long weekend, and we have really been taking advantage of it. Yesterday we went to the Christkindlmarket downtown for some delicious wine from a boot.

Peanut enjoyed the fact of (though not the length of time on) the train we took to get there. The market itself was very crowded, and it was too crowded for our very walkie toddler to be walking. But we had promised him he would be walking and not in the ergo the whole time, so once we got someone more clear, we let him walk. That was when we found an awesome sax player playing some great festive tunes.  As is often the case (or always the case) he had his case open for folks to put money in. I gave the peanut a couple quarters. He shyly put them in, sneaking up and then back again, and then he asked for more.  i gave him another, same thing.  then i was pretty much out of money. so he says more, does the sign for more, and jumps up and down. So i say to him, knowing it's the wrong question, more music? He looks me flat in the face, no, more Money!

it was really cute.

today we went to the free zoo. it was awesome.  we went late in the afternoon and lucked out because it was also the first night of zoo lights. So much fun. I think this christmas is going to be awesome.  Watching p watch and experience the world is probably my favorite thing about being a mom.  We want to make the lights at the zoo a yearly tradition. I will post pictures from that later.

another cute cousin shot from turkey day

sleep is for the weak

that's what peanut said yesterday, at nap time. Oh, he slept....but only for about 20 minutes.  

the beautiful start to a very short nap

Then he was up up up to party.

We went to my moms. A first in many years. We usually go to Detroit but the people we see there, J's fam, moved too far away to visit at thanksgiving. 

Dinner at my moms went better than I thought. E melted down a bunch, but when you skip a nap, that happens. He was super cute with his cousin and ate turkey, which is a big deal because he doesn't like meat very much.

 

yyyyyyuuuuuum!

with  the cousin

This good holiday makes me feel cautionarily optimistic about christmas. We are in town for both holidays this year. certain people i know who d not live in my house are a little stressie and sad at christmas, but it comes out as anger.

More on that later, or not.

For now, I'm going to leave it with the fact that we had a great holiday!

did you hear about the giveaway? You only have a few more days to enter to win your very own custom made softie. See the give it away now post for more details!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you all stay safe and spend some time with your families. 

I'm looking ahead to the festivities tomorrow and the countdown to craft deadlines. 

hard day

today was so hard it felt like a monday. to top it off, it rained all night making my poorly designed bus commute home quite soggy, and annoying. without going into detail, I'll just say that sometimes things come up at work that are difficult to address and they become a headache for me. What I dislike --oh come on, Sarah-- what I hate the most is when an emergency comes up at 4 and i have to fix it before i go. many of you who read this might be thinking i have a poor work ethic. I might. I might. But that's only because I want to be home with my fam. But at any rate, I did stay at work late and then I had my usual hour plus commute. got to see the peanut for about 40 minutes before bedtime.

I really have to get cracking with my crafting. I have lots to make.

still no poptarts

The Give Away

Well, one more long day down the hatch. Mondays are the days I teach dog class after working at the office. i love it, but it makes for a long day. We have an extra dog with us for the week too. He's a cute guy, but more on edge, and barks at the drop of a hat.

I have a lot of folding to do, but I want to remind you to make sure you sign up for the giveaway if you want to win an awesome thing. click here

I'm not sure blogging every day counts when what you blog says so little.

So We have a pretty simple life, and we always try to make e's room fun. Here are some pics from one corner of his room.

piano we found in the trash and a sweet chair and xylophone

hiding house from a box we found in the trash. e likes to hide in it

snakes, from e's birthday. Ssssss. they hang out in the house

ssssnake party favors. recycled knit kids clothing.

Another weekend

As the weekend comes to a close, and I sit here, sleeping baby in bed with the start of a cold, Sleeping partner on the couch, surrounded by clean but not folded laundry, i wish we had another weekend that started tomorrow. Alas.

I'm sure everyone hopes for such things.

I made bread today and mixed up a new batch for the week. I really enjoy making bread.

Oh, and I don't know if any of my readers use cloth diapers, but if you do, have you ever had a problem with leaking? Ours are suddenly not very water proof. Which sucks a lot.

We were lucky enough to have warm weather again today. Walking without a heavy coat in mid november is fabulous.

Alright.

could i free associate more than this?

Nigh-nee

Well, I missed a day, a whole day, even though I was planning very much to write last night. I had a good day, a very good day. Woke up too early with peanut and he had a bad night of sleep. Poor kid's teething right now. He has a tooth coming in between 2 others that already exist. It has less room than it needs but it's making room, as teeth do. It is making his nose itch all the time though and I think it's disrupting his sleep. Anyway, woke up early and crabby, but J let me go back to sleep for a nap which was just what I needed. So that helped my day be awesome. Then we all went for a fun walk. Then I got a hair cut, a good one, a really good one, which is hard for me. Some of you probably know what I mean. I want to walk out looking hip and cool, but I walk out looking like dorothy hammel. I walked out looking a lot cooler this time.

So why didn't I write last night? Well, peanut woke up before I could. And I could get him back to sleep, but he woke up every time I left him again. It's the teeth, I'm sure. We just had to call it an early night. I woke up freezing and in my jeans and sweater at 1am. Reminded me of newborn days.

So E has lots and lots of words now, but one he's had for a long time is this one that he seems to have made up. And more than that, it seems to be an expletive, a curse word. And it cracks me up. The word is Nighnee. He says it in distress when he's sad, or frustrated, he says it when he can't get something to work right, he says it when he stubs his toe or hurts himself in a minor way. Other than comic relief for his moms, it got me thinking about how we need expletives or how we use them to feel better. I just saw an article about this the other day.

Do your kids have one or 2 choice words like mine does?

in other news, we are not trying hard to potty train, though we encourage potty use. And e used it twice (both for pee) yesterday. And today, twice too, so far, with one of each.

Ripple Effect

I don't post about her often, mostly because I like to respect her privacy. But she gave me a beautiful son, she shares her life with me, takes care of our son while I work, and in the meantime is amazingly talented. She supports and encourages my creative endeavors, but has a whole bunch of her own. There is the novel of course, but this post is dedicated to her crochet. Before e was born, she made him a blanket. And just recently she made me one too. They are ripple blankets and so warm and cozy. They are not easy to make and crochet is time consuming. Each color is carefully planned and executed. And I love that it brings her joy to make them, since they take a long time to make and are luxury.

here they are:

e's

mine before it was done

e in his kitchen. a $15 yard sale find. Yep, she found it. See, amazing.

Impressive, very impressive

mommy & e one Sunday morning

Well first of all I want to say thanks to those of you who are taking part in my give away adventure. It means a lot to me. Other than wanting to thank you for reading my blog, I think that the giveaway is a chance for me to do what I've been meaning to do for some time...invent my own pattern. If you haven't signed up, there is still time! Details?

What's this about impressive? Well, J inspired me to do the post everyday thing because she undertook the NOV challenge to write a 50,000 word novel. She started nov 1st and she has ALREADY exceeded that goal. So yeah j!!

in an abrupt change of subject, we are hand making a lot of gifts this year,and I've been researching patterns. How cute is this? I totally want to make it for e.

Walking

the peanut point

E and I have been taking nightly walks again. The difference now, is that instead of riding him on my back, he walks (or rather runs) with me. He's so funny too, as he just starts out with an announcement "i run." And in true peanut style, he then points to me and winnie, "run?"

It's been raining on and off here, and that creates one of his favorite things: puddles. He looks for them and stomps in them. Water? Puddle? Then he points to me. Wants me to step in them too. When we run out, he says and signs "more." This is all while holding winnie's leash, of course. Remember this? that was the beginning of him walking the dog. Now he always has to have it either tied to his stroller, or in his hand while he walks. I have second leash and I hold a leash too.

It's one of my favorite things we do together. I love having a baby.

Don't forget to get the word out about the giveaway!!

Give it away give it away give it away now

Ok. For all my readers, yes, even you, I am offering a super fun for me and you (yes, you) giveaway. Not familiar with the concept giveaway on a blog? It's simple, I offer something, and you all, all my readers, you all comment, post about the give away on your own blogs, sign up to follow me, that kind of stuff (full details below) and on a given date (in this case, December 1st) a winner will be announced. Winner will be picked randomly.

Now, why is my (MY) giveaway special? Well, I'm giving you the chance to tell ME what YOU want. That's right. But wait...it's not, "i want an eye-phone." the giveaway will be a dance peanut softie and this gives you chance to think up a softie you want to see, and have me take a swing at creating it.

Winners will be selected randomly. You have to enter to win.

several ways to enter.

• need some ideas? ask your kids, tell me your dream monster, think of a ridiculous combination (cat-horse or, um, elephant-fish --you know a fishaphant)

• what the hecks a softie?

• where's peanut? you're sweet to ask. asleep right now, but here he was in a leaf pile.

How to enter the "Dance Peanut Softie Adventure Giveaway":

1. Comment on this post and leave a detailed suggestion for a softie, for ex.: "wow sarah! I'm so excited about this giveaway that I wet my pants. Please make a rhino, a pink one."

a comment will give you one entry

2. if you Follow me that will give you 1 MORE entry. (but only if you comment. I wont know what to make you, otherwise.

3. Post about this Dance Peanut Softie Adventure Giveaway on your blog and that will get you 2 more entries.

So you could have a potential of 4 entries!!! right now, based on current comment trends, that would really make you have an unfair advantage, dear reader. But i won't tell if you won't tell.

full disclosure: since i started posting every day, I have felt a need to receive more comments than i generally do (oh, seeker of approval). I'm hoping this giveaway will bring quiet readers out of the woodwork and will also draw more readers to my blog.

And for those of you wondering, still no pop tarts. Today was hard but my resolve was strong.

thrifty

My girl is thrifty. She finds awesome finds at thrift stores and they become parts of our lives. True, we have more stuff than we need, but this is true of many people in america. Well my thrifty goddess found this for $1.50 at the thrift store sunday. just the house...no furniture.

I was reading finding chaos, and they were also talking vintage toys. I have such vivid memories of my fp play sets. I love playsets.

I am too tired to talk bout them right now. But I plan to.

I'll just say, i almost hit a deer tonight and I'll be announcing my giveaway on wednesday. So stay tuned.

Leaves

So e and I raked leaves this morning and he loves leaves. He loves jumping in them, throwing them, filling buckets with them...everything! We ran out of bags so more fun will ensue next weekend I'm sure. Here's a cute pic of our fun time. I love how focused he is!

I am not sure what else to say right now other than that I'm in the planning stages of a giveaway of a craft. So stay tuned. For real. It's the kind of giveaway that you don;t want to miss. Let's call it, choose my own adventure. That's right. Oooooo, you're going to love it.

thwartsville

i do, i do....i do, i doooooooo.

thwart

1. To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans.

2. To oppose and defeat the efforts, plans, or ambitions of

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

Today, I had an early appointment training a dog. I got all parked and got my stuff, went in the trunk to get my alternate bag, set my keys in my bag(thinking literally, "i will bring this bag"), decided 3 moments later I didn't need said bag, forgot keys were in there, closed the hatchback went into front of car again, locked the doors, began to walk away, realized I wanted the bag afterall, reached in pocket for keys, and remembered location of said keys. Thankfully, I had my phone, so I called j right away and she and peanut hopped on a bus to meet me. pretty thwarted. I went to my appointment and it was good. I got out and J and e were just about there. so I met them walking, got the biggest hug ever from e.

The reason I feel like I'm in thwartsville now is in part due to a general sense I've built up all day.

Like right at this moment, I'm trying to blog and I'm having a hard time. i'm sleepy and hungry, but before that I had to feed the dog, before that the cat was pestering me, before that the baby had woken up and was having a hard time getting comfy again. All of that started to happen as soon as i sat down to blog.

other thwarts arts of the day?

little old ladies at the grocery store in front of every thing i needed

peanut tried to thwart everything

ok' I'm actually dozing between lines. I'll post more tomorrow.

foto story friday: fall frollic

c'mon!

this way!

a buck!!

cool, i climb

yeah!

help from mommy is good too

and mama

under, i fit

another deer, time to rest against this tree

not right now

today, i don't even know what it was an answer to at the time, Peanut answered a suggestion or a question (i think it was, lets get your diaper changed) with the phrase :

"not right now."

He's been using a lot of phrases lately, in fact, and the first use always catches me in a flutter of pride and excitement, as it should. I don't know much about language devel

opment, but I do know that I love when he tries to say new things.

That's all true, and the hyper parent in me is thinking where did he learn that phrase and does it indicate that we are too dismissive? Do we make him wait too long when he shouldn't have to? I do know that sometimes he makes a crazy request or suggestion, like wants to go visit his bff in the middle of the night, and we say not right now. Then he says 'tmorrow?'

yes baby. tomorrow. Or no baby, next week.

cold baby after picking apples a few weeks ago.

day 3 of pop tart challenge, ok!

making a statement on a very good day

I think that blog title says more than I think it will prove to be. In other words, not sure i can live up to it.

First off, I had a great day. I saw two (one at lunch and one in the evening) disabled performers. I work for a disability organization that looks at disability not as a problem with the person but as a problem with society. It's a perspective that I find really meaningful (i work there, afterall) and empowering for people with disabilities. Think about it, when society treats you like you have a problem (lets say, maybe you can't walk) that could be cured if you consulted the right drs, or if not cured, then managed to the point that you'd be all aok to be around people who don't have the problem, just as long as you don't cause any problems or fuss around too much. And also, it would be nice if you would work and not just live off of society, but too bad you can;t since you can't drive. I guess the key point in there is, a medical approach to disability is to cure it or manage it. A social approach looks at society, and the environment and says, well, wouldn't it make people with disabilities more independent if there were elevators at the train so they could take the train to work, and stuff like that. Anyway, I think I'm rambling. The point is, I saw 2 performers today, David Roche and Terry Galloway. They were amazing.

so there is that.....but

I'm also feeling pretty upset because j is in a moms group, a rather big one and they have a message board, and there was recently and outpouring of admiration and appreciation for an author who is anti gay, anti gay marriage and anti gay adoption. There was discussion about how "sux she's that way but love her marriage advice" and J was like, um, maybe not, and maybe there is something more to explore here. And some members her uncool about that and made my poor J feel bad. And I'm mad about it too. i mean really? what would they say if the author was a racist?

I also don't like anyone to feel sad, especially not my girl, so i feel extra upset about it.

day 2, no pop tarts.

blogging AND crafting

Yes, that's right. I am making a stuffed elephant (wee wonderfuls) and blogging at once.

while I was cutting it out, my least favorite part, I made up a little rhyme about it.

josie my cat standing on the cut pieces

E's friend P turned 3

so I am making it for she

soon you will see

this elephant by wee.

sewn by me

here they are, complete pictures. Cell phone quality, but you get the picture:

and day one without pop tarts went off without a hitch...which is to say, I didn't eat any.

giving up

pop tarts

they are my current weakness. I struggle with my weight a bit and hearing your ideas, along with some not so deep searching, its an easy first step...eliminate the pop tarts. I remember when this habit began..they stare at me through the glass, taunting, no, inviting me with their "good source of vitamins and minerals" claim. they are also a good source of too many calories and sugar.

How many calories? How much sugar?

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 pastry

Amount per Serving
Calories 200 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5g	8%
Saturated Fat 2g	10%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 210mg	9%
Total Carbohydrate 36g	12%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Sugars 19g
Protein 3g	6%

Vitamin A	10%
Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	0%
Iron	10%
Thiamin (B1)	10%
Riboflavin (B2)	10%
Niacin (B3)	10%
Vitamin B6	10%
Folic Acid (Folate)	10%

---

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 22.5% Carbs 72.0%

Protein 6.0%

yeah, and in case you're wondering, I ate 2 at a time. 2.

That's done.

over.

Sorry for the boring post.

I just wanted to declare tomorrow the start of no more pop tarts. Stay tuned for updates of my success and struggles!!

Perfect Fall Day

Here in Chicagoland, as everywhere, I think, the weather has been crummy since, well, for a while. We had a mediocre summer, a crummy start to fall with very cold temps and lots of dismal rain. My backyard is a mud pit. When I say that, and I mean dismal, it rained for days, it makes what I am going to say next all the more meaningful. This weekend made up for everything!!

Made up for the days as dark as evenings, for the constant battering rain, the 45 degree days with gooey leaf puddles, made up for everything.

We took Peanut to the north park nature center today, kind of a wild place in the middle of the city. It feels like you are in the woods, though you can hear the traffic go by and the planes overhead from time to time. It's so beautiful and serene. And what's fun is being able to let peanut run free because there are no cars to worry about or houses for him to walk into. There was even some very interesting deer drama between two stags courting a doe. It was quite interesting. I was in heaven watching Peanut enjoy nature the way I do.

I will post pictures later. I want to now but my computer is very slow and I'm not in the mood to deal with it. Downloading the camera takes awhile.

this is a picture of peanut at a different nature center with his mama. She gets him out and doing things often.

one or two brief last notes...I want to without sounding pathetic, say that i really need to lose weight and am looking for some busy person ideas for that. I saw a picture of myself today that I couldn't believe.

Anyway, if you have any ideas, drop me a comment or two. And read my other posts this week. 8 posts in 8 days, and only 3 comments: thanks Leslie, Meg and Kristen!

What I Make

Got the hedgehog pin cushion started last night. it's from a vintage pattern. J was out seeing Margaret Atwood read from her new book. After cleaning and blogging I didn't have much time before the Peanut woke up and or before tiredness sunk in. But it's all cut out. I only have too stitch it. I don't like cutting out stuff. this was small though and not hard to cut.Anyway, Tho the pincushion isn't complete I do have some projects I can share. I mostly like to make cute things, Dolls and softies. i take a great many ideas from this Hillary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls.

here are some of the things I've made.

bunnies from recycled sweater (wee wonderfuls)

little brown bear (wee wonderfuls)

monster...my own original pattern.

dragon, my own pattern
knight

procraftination

i have a craft

and i have a blog.

im writing a boring blog post instead of working on my craft.

please comment.

5 posts and radio silence. I'm getting a complex here people.

my craft is a hedgehog pincushion.

i shall post it upon completion. :)

Some random things about me

me in the early 70's, wish i still had this toy

what order are these in? Stream of consciousness order, of course.

• i have never lived anywhere more than 8 years
• i was born in buffalo NY
• i have a lot of 22's in my birthday. 12-22 at 22:22 hours
• i think the 22 thing is pretty cool
• i lived in germany for 3 years when i was a kid
• i have been mistaken for a boy many times
• i have been mistaken for a grandma 3 times
• i would rather be mistaken for a boy anytime
• i consider myself a poet though i don't write poems anymore
• i used to play the flute
• i fantasized of being famous until we had our baby
• i didn't wear a bra for about 3/4 of my twenties
• i used to drink a lot of gin and tonics
• when i was little, i cried a lot
• i used to live on an island
• i was a drum major for my marching band
• one year, at band camp is and introductory phrase which applies to me
• i wish i didn't look so old
• i love positive reinforcement
• 3 of the places i lived are actually vacation spots: Germany, Outer Banks of NC, Niagara Falls
• i used to work on a farm
• i was in the army reserves for 8 years
• my father was my recruiter
• my favorite dog breed is Mix, then english shepherd, then toller, then shiba inu
• i have run in one full and two half marathons

me as a pumpkin

me carving a face for my pumpkin

apple orchard

these apples are delicious. As a matter of fact they are she said. can all this fruit be free?

It was awhile ago now, but we hit the apple orchard this year. It was tons of fun. We always go with my mom and sisters. This year it was super cold and we went to a place in Wisconsin called Apple Holler. A hootin tootin good time if also a bit expensive and commercial. Still, it was one of those times that was super fun, and it's always nice to have a good time with my family, since that isn't always the case. Peanut loves my mom, and she's a good cha cha (that's her grandma name), but her mothering leaves something to be desired. I've mentioned it before so I won't go into it now. We all know I will mention it again as the holiday season approaches and I grow stressed from it.

I love apple orchard day though. It kind of brings out the best of us all. We come together, pick together, try to stay warm together, enjoy the crisp sweet taste of apples and the warm sugary taste of apple donuts together. This year, peanut was so mobile and loved eating his apples. I think this warmed my mother's heart. Whatever happens, whatever ugly passes between us, I like that we have this. A healthy fall day to celebrate harvest, the earth and going forward. We got a lot of apples that day, but since peanut is an apple or 2 a day kinda guy, and i am a apple or two a day kinda mommy, they are all already gone. So we are back to buying them from Trader Joes.

Here are some pictures from the day.

cha cha picking the first apple

My sister's friend M, Auntie M (my youngest sister who is in High School), My nephew K and apples

Cha cha and Auntie J (K's Mom)

Peanut and his cousin K

Mama, Mommy and Peanut