• if I have to get up in the night, I have to switch to my other side when I return to bed.
• I start on my right side with no blankets, or just covers on my hip (unless it's winter).
• When I lay on my left side, I have to pull my blanket up & under my left cheek. My back uncovered.
• School starts tomorrow: I am happy for the routine, but I think a shorter day would be better.
• Suvi usually came home from kindergarten hungry and tired. I hope it's not too much for her.
• Theo and I played balloon ball while Dad was outside with S & J. He said, "This is just what I wanted! Alone time with me & Mom. And Russell, I guess. Russell's job this morning is to be cute, Mom. His job is already done. He's just.so.cute."
• I really enjoyed my few minutes (30?) with him. His only real complaint about school? So little time with Mom.
• I'm not getting out of bed, but as soon as I post this, I'm turning onto my right side.
We have bunk beds for Theo and Judah. I wish Suvi had a little sister to love, to boss around, to annoy, to lean on. She has three brothers who adore her. And Jude will serve as a stand in when she needs someone to dress up. He usually likes to look like a wock staw (rockstar) or really handsome (NEVER cute). They put on shows, play super hero figures and Barbies. Suvi is teaching him how to write his name. Without her pushing him, he is satisfied with not knowing how. She makes him want to try.
Their relationship makes me happy. They fight, too, don't let me fool you. But a brother who will let you slap some nail polish on his jagged, dirty 4 year old linebacker fingers? Ya can't beat it.
I woke up around 3 A.M. and have not been able to fall back asleep. My hips are bugging me and I could not find a comfy position. Just as I was debating on toughing it out or moving to the couch (and the tv), Suvi came pounding up the stairs. She rarely wakes up in the night, but when she does, she doesn't like to use the bathroom alone. She drank a little water and sat down to do her business. In a panicky voice she said, "My throat feels weird."
Ah yes, this was mother's intuition keeping me awake. I had to be available for the 4 A.M. puker. Poor little Presh. I am camping on the couch in case she needs me. And hoping to get sleepy again soon...
Shirley gave me the neon fabric a few years ago & I picked up the polka dotted square ages back.
Using materials we have in the house makes me so happy!
Here is the purse with my phone so you can see the size. The base of the original template is 17", mine is 10". I chose to make a smaller purse because of my fabric size as well as the size of the birthday girl. She's 6!
I typically don't follow a pattern when I sew...let me tell you, it was so much easier! Creating my own visions is fun, but this little bag is very easy to make. The only frustration I had was finding a button. The button I found has a little glitter. Super festive!
Suvi asked that we put something in the purse, so I found two post it pads that match the green and blue.
Theo met his teacher today. So far, I love her. He was happy to meet her, thrilled to discover some of his friends from kindergarten will be in his class. He said, "I am so excited I could explode right now."
Seriously cute. I am absolutely thrilled that my kids are excited to start school. It was not the case when I was in school. Major anxiety and shyness. It just dawned on me that I probably should have waited a year to start kindergarten, because my birthday is in July (and i am still very immature. haha) I'll keep that in mind when it's Judah's turn. For now, we have an excited first grader and an excited kindergartener. Yeehaw!
What is it about longing for days gone by that clouds and blurs my mind's photo files?
How can I lean into the past with full confidence that these dreamy memories will sustain, if only I could have one more day from Then?
My memory lies to me in this aspartame haze, brazen untruths of my reality.
Oh how high was that angst and constant questioning of each unsure and reckless step.
Yes, yes, I do certainly know there were moments of wonder and light. But it cannot compare to the weightless joy in my singing heart with the bouncing sweet legs of my daughter over my own.
There is a Then that was, but now is the Then that is, that sings.
i asked the kids what to write about today. suvi said i could write about my loving children, and to include 'creative', theo thought i should help him find the weapons for his lego and kre-o sets, and figure out what to write later. i just started typing and this is what the three of us brewed up.
once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a beautiful princess. she was very creative. AND, there was a queen named Jenny. the queen was searching high and low throughout the kingdom for the tiniest weapons ever created. the handsome prince had misplaced them, you see, and could not rest comfortably until he had his weapons back in hand. his creative sister offered the suggestion he simply make new weapons out of clay, but the prince did not like the idea. "really? weapons out of clay?" the princess went off to find her own fun without her weapon-less brother. the prince, after considering the clay further, decided to give it a go. he went out of the castle with his faithful pup, woofster, to collect clay from behind the garden.
iiiiiiiiiiits FRIDAY! And it's April 12th. And we built a mini-snowman yesterday and a medium size snowman today. In the second week of April. hooray. (slumped shoulders and dejected look on my face.) I don't mind the snow so much. It's the mud in my driveway I can't handle. Anyhow, it felt nice out there today, dusting off the cobwebs from another week :)
I often worry about Judah's development. He has met all his milestone markers, but since he was born before his lungs were all set, I think I will always worry more about him in that regard. And he isn't as clear of a talker as his siblings, who were/are big talkers. There has never really been a reason for me to fret about Judah, but I guess he's my baby & my reminder that life will happen as it happens, not as I plan :)
Today after lunch he came out to the living room to build a tower. He has been enjoying the blocks for the last few days since we did a little toy sorting (which = we re-discovered their existence . Judah likes to stack the blocks end to end the long way, with a roof shaped piece on top. Every.time. He couldn't find the big roof & asked me if I have seen his triangle.
"Mommy? You see my twiangle?" It made me teary. I guess I don't have to worry so much. He got this.
I gave the kids the smallest/bendy carrot in the fridge to use as a nose. They were quite pleased with their ol' Ma. Some days, it doesn't take much to impress them. I like days like this. With the kindergartener at school, the 5 year old with all the hair, and my 2 years 10 months 21 day old baby. What. At least I stopped calculating how many weeks old he is. (fine. 151.)
I had a few errands to do after Theo got on the bus today. I told Suvi and Judah to get ready to go, explaining the stops we would be making. Suvi told me that she wanted to go IN somewhere. Like the grocery store. She wanted to buy something with the money she got as birthday gifts.
Last week when she was lining up her dollars and change, I stressed to her that money is not a toy, she should put it in a safe place and take care of it. She is one independent girl & I didn't really expect her to pay much attention to my warning. As we were walking out the door, I told her to bring her wallet along. She wasn't sure where it was, then went tearing off downstairs to the basement. She came flying back up with 8 bucks in her hand.
"Why didn't you keep it in your purse?"
"I hid it in that brown wood thing in the basement because you told me to keep it safe!"
Truly. Seriously. I love this girl. I almost wished I could give her back her money! But she spent it all at Tarjay...Five looks really good on you, Presh.
My 4 year old is having a hard time getting to sleep tonight. It is 10:24 and the Habinator and I have shooed her back to bed many times already.
"Mom?"
"Hahh?"
"Does 'octogon' start with R?"
"O"
"Then what?"
"We''ll talk about it in the morning."
Pause. Then a deflated, "Oh."
Daylight savings MY EYE.
in unrelated news, I am procrastinating with Olympian dedication, you guys. I didn't do a lick of work or even prep today. I did, however, start on crocheting my first hot pad. That'll be real useful. And what-not.
Also, I spent a solid 30 minutes looking up a blog post to share with a client on fb. Then proceeded to read some old posts. I miss those old days of lots of comments. It's like saving a conversation, you guys. Totally reminiscing about our blog-lationship, my bloginators! Lovin Y'ALL.
i've been having very strange yet realistic dreams the last few nights. they are not visions, i double checked. thankfully deanna did not shave her head. and my mom is not driving a ford f 150.
i did get my kitchen sink gleaming last week. but. i had a two hour chunk of time yesterday with nothing pressing to do, and instead of consulting my new schedule, i pittered it away on the couch. aaaah. couuuuch.
(i love this pic because you can see suvi's reflection in the tv-our photog)
i am this self-centered.
and today, this very morning,
i. am. thankful.
thankful for excedrine migraine and peppermint oil.
a hot shower with eucalyptus,
and earl grey lavender tea.
and back-combing and hairspray and kids who don't tell me to settle down my crazy hairdo. i'm thankful for all of that!
peace. school resumed yesterday.
sunday school resumed this week as well, but we missed it. i overslept my alarm because i was up in the night with judah-washing sheets and blankies and pillows. eew. he's fine tho'.
this little icy spot is in my front garden. the weather was mild yesterday, so we had a bit of a melt and drip situation.
on Christmas Eve, I asked, "what is it like in Bethlehem? what do they eat there?"
"maybe it's the Mediterranean diet," my hubs suggested. sounds good to me!
we were eating lasagna, which had cheese in it, and bread, but we did not have wine. i actually thought about perhaps opening one of the bottles of Ethiopian wine we received from a guest last year when our Ayat was here. but we're sort of diet Coke snobs. i make no excuses. instead we drank tea and water. i'd still like to know what people ate, you know, the ones who actually got a room, on that first Christmas Eve. sweet Baby Jesus about to arrive, and we were eating...
well. i am my mother's daughter. if you meet her, she might discuss a meal plan with you. she likes that kind of wild talk.
earlier in the day suvi and theo made cookies for Santa.
she loves a good cookie. and a good photo op.
gram gave the kids some gifts. judah is in love with his 'little people' house.
theo woke us up this morning around 7:24 (ha, ha). as i was putting on my shoes to head downstairs with him, i thought about sending a message to my friend in finland. we were instant messaging around 1 a.m. when i couldn't sleep and she was starting her Christmas morning with her family. i was wanting to ask what they were up to after my five hour nap. ;)
he was pleased with his batman thingy, and the other crap santa brought him. what? it's so fun to pick stuff out for them, watch them light up as they discover a new treasure, but i am not good and moving old toys out. which means we got a lot o crapola under this roof! ha!
we were able to make it to dassel to share the day and a meal with my mom, my sisters and much of their families. the drive went so fast for me today! i was thankful for the dry roads, for our safety and comfort. also because that meant i basically had an hour to load my new purse, play with my camera, kick butt in Angry Birds...i like a good sunshiney Christmas morning drive!
my sister is married to a farmer, dontcha know. they live 11 miles from downtown cokato. if you go north at the light, turn left when you see these huge power lines.
number 6 and number 2
number 4 and my mama
number 1, suvi's god-mother, and my handsome nephew #2
my number one, tooth-dangler of a first born.
did you know that i am the only one of my siblings to have 2 boys? all 4 of my sisters and my brother john each have one son. katie, shirley, and mari have girls, too, but i am the queen with 2 boys. just a nice little bit of trivia for you to enjoy with your coffee this morning.
i hope your Christmas was peaceful and happy. i hope you have the comfort of knowing and believing in the grace gift of the promised Son of God. my heart is often so weary, but Christmastime fills me with joy and reassurance.
Joy to the world, The Lord is Come!
and because i love THIS version of this song, a little bare naked ladies.
and today post cake, during homework, prior to his 1:03 bus.
he asked if anyone was coming over today. because it is his birthday. and really, he would like more gifts. because, ahem, the four lego sets and one spiderman web attack car he already received was not, so it seems, enough. ;)
and his ham of a sister who gets to be four for three more months.
if you've been visiting my blog for at least 3 years, you might remember that suvi liked to stand behind me in the computer chair when i went online. she still tries to squeeze in behind me, but she's too tall to stand comfortably, so she sits. on my butt ledge. and it hurts my back and my butt and i have to be quite forceful to get that girl out of my chair. i do like being snuggly with her, but as i told her today, "You are too big to share this chair with Mama now, Suvi. There isn't enough room! Get down." She did NOT get out and asked, "What is a 'froom', tho', Mom?! I don't know what a 'froom' is!"
Suvi. You make me laugh. Thank you for that! E-nough ROOM. not a froom. enough room.
It only lasts a few minutes before the whining and stomping starts again, but with the white noise of the hair dryer and my daughter drawing on the steamed up windows, I get that dream come true feeling. I love being Suvi's Mom. I love that handful of minutes together, drying her hair, the blow out mini: just getting the wet out before we head out into the 24 degree weather.
It made me teary this morning. I'll return to my whining and stomping now!
SWEET LOVE.
