Lest I Forget

On the way to an early morning appointment, Jack and Anna were musing over what their future careers might be. Anna: I want to be either a worker at Busch Gardens or a Mythbuster. Jack: I want to be a veter-tarian or... Me: You mean a veterinarian? As in someone who works with animals? Jack: That's what I said, a veter-tarian. Either that or a blimp driver.

I didn't have the heart to tell him he was supposed to wear the earmuffs like a headband and not under his chin. I also was too chicken to go outside so the pictures are grainy.

The knitting of my sweater, my sweater , the one I had been looking at on Ravelry for a long time, was finally taking shape. I was frustrated that things like schoolwork and babies kept taking up all my time. I even had gone to the local yarn shop to search for yarn. Oh, how that Madelinetosh called out to me, but being so frugal, I just could not pay for three whole skeins of that lovely yarn. I mean, what if the sweater didn't even turn out? I would feel so wasteful. I picked a lovely, less expensive yarn and immediately came home and cast on. Then, two days ago, it happened. I noticed I had made a mistake. I sat there and my brain froze. What to do? What do I do? It was several rows back. I remember the yarn shop owner telling me that you can drop a stitch down to the mistake and fix it that way. I tried. I failed. I made it worse. I was in panic mode by this point and had to put the knitting down. I walked away and tried to regain some composure. It haunted me though, all day, ...

For a while now, when we are eating, Peter looks longingly at our food and even opens his mouth in hopes that we might give him some. Last week, I was making burritos and of course you cannot have burritos without guacamole. Everyone knows that, right? Well, I put a little avacado in the food grinder, added a little water, and gave it a try. Oh, how he loved it! He grabbed my hand, trying to get the spoon in his mouth even faster. A couple days later, we tried some banana. Again he gobbled it up quickly and was mad when it was all gone. Today, we tried rice cereal. This kid loves to eat! See how he has a firm grip on my wrist? He was afraid I would stop feeding him. He also is very good at rolling over to get toys or to just move around. Another equally fun way for him to move is to arch his back and push off with his feet. He has quite an impressive bald spot on the back of his head proving just how much he likes to do this. He babbles and gurgles and smiles and laughs out ...

We awoke to a nice bit of snow and the sun shining ever so brightly! The blue sky is such a welcome sight. That constant gray of the past week did nothing to boost my spirits. The kids hurried outside to enjoy the snow before it melted away. They have been in and out all morning, braving the cold and playing in the snow until their fingers get too cold. They come running in, yelling for hot cocoa, unlayering all those layers in a trail across the floor. They warm themselves up and then decide to get all those layers back on and head back outside. I even got bundled up for the initial foray into the snow. I felt just like a kid again, trying to pack the snow into a ball. We tried for a snowman, but the snow was not cooperative. Oh the fun though, trying! Notice some people have less layers on than they should. I can only highly suggest a heavy coat, but getting them to comply in another thing. We scraped the ground and packed and piled the snow since it would not make a good sn...

Outside my window... a soggy, drippy, messy day. Raindrops rolling down the window panes. Bare, wet tree branches stand starkly against the gray-white sky. I think this calls for a cozy fire and some hot tea.   I am thinking...  how I said I would write more about Peter's EEG. When he was in my arms and I sat there watching his arm and leg rhythmically shaking I did not panic. I did not get upset. I tried to record the episode and remained calm. I called the doctor. I went to the appointment. He had the EEG. I then met with the neurologist and heard the same things I heard with Ben. 'Normal EEG'. 'He is developing normally'. I could feel the emotion building up as I walked out to the car. As soon as Peter was buckled in and I started the car, I began sobbing. I really don't want to go through all this again , I thought.  With seizures, you are reminded that you are not really in control of anything. They can come at any time. You really can't be prep...

I am in organization mode while I still have big kids and the husband home to help, but I thought I'd post a few pictures of the last weeks. The low-cost entry makeover. I painted the bench and the front door. This little guy found his way into Peter's stocking. The fireplace on Christmas Eve. See the owl peeking out? This year's tree was full and round and beautiful. Therese did minimal damage to the ornaments. My grandmother, who is now 101, with Peter, who really didn't want to have his picture taken. Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house takes a long time. I simply cannot believe he is big enough to be in the johnny-jumper. He likes it except when Therese spins him like a top. I also gave him his first haircut on New Year's Day.