Festival(s) of light(s)

 This is how we do it around here.  Solstice bread and lanterns one night, Hanukah candles the next night, and the X-mas tree always in the background.  Waiting for the yummy latkaes that Ari is whipping up in the kitchen, and considering how to celebrate Fetsivus without the Feasts of Strength because I don't think I'll be able to pin Ari to the ground.

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Projects, projects, projects

This is what you do during a long winter waiting for a baby to be born.  I still have over a week until the baby's due date.  So I will have to invent new projects to keep my mind and hands busy until the little man decides to grace us with his presence.  Luckily after Solstice tonight there are still many nights of Hanukah to celebrate (We haven't gotten around to it yet), with latkes and stories.  Who knows what New Year's projects will have to happen if the baby doesn't hurry up.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.

A quilt for the baby.

Solstice sun bread.

Christmas stockings. (Thanks for the help Becca!)

Advent calendar. (This one too Becca.)

Go back to bed

Okay, I'll admit being nine months pregnant with a toddler is
generally hard and not fun. Today Y did not nap (as usual). I lay down
while she is in her room, and then she usually comes in to my room to
tell me she is all done napping after about 20 minutes. I have
accepted things and take my 20 minute break.
When I went to get up today this is what happened.
Y: Don't get up.
Me: Why?
Y: Because I'll rub your feet.
Me: OK.

She is actually quite skilled for a two year old.

Cleaning

Me: "Mommy has to clean up now."

Y: "Don't do that"

Me: "Why not?"

Y: "It's boring."

She is very young, but very wise.

Toy box?

What a nice toy box.

This is from Yemaya: Xmuutfvfaaaqdggtyytyruqwe1)5433
/aaaZasewaaAzsqqqwsaqwehihvzwaSzsaseddds3...-2 .af

Winter sandbox time

I'm a firefighter

What are you eating

Yemaya walks into the living room eating something.

Me: "What are you eating?"
Y: "A chip."
Me: "Where did you find a chip?"
Y: "In the kitchen."
Me: "Where in the kitchen?"
Y: "On the floor."

I guess we need to sweep.

Two butterflies and a caterpiller

Don't cook mommy

"Don't cook mommy.  I hate it when you cook."

My view of the world.

 I'm not sure where she thinks dinner (and dessert) is going to come from if I don't cook.

Jeez kid, this is what I am making.

People keep asking if I have any cravings, and I didn't think I did, but I looked up the following recipes today (while eating a cookie). 
Apple tart
Cinnamon Rolls

Good thing I passed my glucose test a few weeks ago! At least dessert will involve a fruit and I only used 2 tablespoons of sugar instead of the cup called for in the recipe.

Pumpkins!

We went to the Sequim pumpkin patch with our cooperative playschool today.  There was a really big slide and Yemaya went down it tons of times all by herself.  She was fascinated by the pigs, and wanted to pick up the stray chicken.  I'm not sure if she does this at her preschool, or she just saw her little friend who has chickens do it, but she just keeps insisting on trying.  I must admit, I do not think I have ever picked up a chicken, and will be no help in pursuing this current fixation of hers.  I also was not much help with the pigs.  Another mom and grandma were sticking their hands in the fence calling the pigs over, I just sort of poked a pig with one finger.  I send Yemaya to a preschool two days a week that has chickens, goats, and sheep with the hopes that the wonderful women who run the school will teach her about touching animals.  While I happily dissect animal parts in my science classroom, while wearing gloves, it turns out I have very little interest in getting up close and personal with farm animals (or even most house pets).

Other moms at the pumpkin patch took nice pictures while the sun was out with their nice cameras, all I managed was a scowl when a cloud passed by with my phone.  Yemaya is very proud of her pumpkin and will add it to the table that is getting quite full of all the little pumpkins we have bought and picked up at various activities this year.  Stay tuned because I expect to have a pumpkin carving craze this weekend (for which we will need to buy more and bigger pumpkins)!  Halloween is the best and my favorite holiday, and the fact that my beautiful niece is a Halloween baby only makes it an even better day.

Take a picture

Now she thinks we take pictures of eating every night.

Where have you been? And a bunch of Broccoli eaters.

Well, I've written about 100 blog posts in my head, and taken many more pictures for posting, but then I think, "Well, we don't really live on a boat anymore. Maybe I should start a new blog."  Well, that isn't gonna happen today, or any of the many yesterdays, and maybe we will live on a boat again some day.  So I'll just continue doing some blogging about my life here. Plus this post will give me a chance to test out how well the iOS5 on my iPhone and the iCloud really do at streaming pictures from my phone to my computer with out ever attaching a cord.

I called my sister to say "hi" tonight, we talked about all the usual parts of life.  We were both cooking dinner during our short phone call.  Both our families would be eating some form of pasta.  They prefer "worms" and we prefer rainbow spirals.  A few minutes into our conversion we had both been interrupted by children, and in her case also a dog.  There had been side conversations with children about toys, and the potty, and a few minor injuries.  At one point I realized that pasta would not exactly meet the vegetable quota for the day so I starting cutting up the broccoli to throw in the pasta water.  I must have said something like, "We are even going to eat a vegetable," to my sister and told her about cutting up the broccoli and cooking it with the pasta.  She was inspired to also meet the vegetable quota the same way (no need to microwave, or make an extra pot dirty, which is usually my goal).  At practically the same moment our dinners were done and we said good bye.

Moments into sitting down I received this text:

I sent this one back (Y does not smile for the camera):

I texted back Y's response to seeing Sydney: I don't see Owen, can I see Owen eating broccoli?"

And finally:

It was almost like having dinner together.  It turns out it is really nice to have a sister to call on the phone and to find out how similar our lives are at some moments in time.  Just one of the many reasons I am grateful for my wonderful sisters.

Note: So, iCloud worked really well.  No need to plug in my phone to get these photos to my computer to post on the blog.  With the new iOS5 on my old iPhone, I have decided that I do not need to buy a new iPhone (I don't think that voice assistant thing will work anyway with a screaming two year old in the background).  The new phone was gonna be my early "push present".  Now taking suggestions of something better to "ask" for.

My mother always told me...

...to have cereal where the children can get it themselves. Sometimes
she makes a big mess, but she does know where to go when she is
hungry.

Too Cool

A frog visits the aquarium

Go Fly a Kite

Daddy shows how it's done.

It's a butterfly of course.

Yemaya lost interest in the kite flying and is smelling the flowers.

"This one's for you"

A flower for Mommy.

Blow Fish fishing

While taking care of two active kids (and a baby) it is important to have fun activities to make it through the day.  I have been reading a really great blog, Made by Joel, it is filled with tons of cool ideas for projects to do with kids.  Blow Fish is the first project that seemed right for us to give a try. 

 

 

 

 

 

The basic blow fish concept.

I just free hand cut out the fish and the kids "decorated" them.  Owen and I had a few blow fish races across the kitchen.  His blue fish was super fast and always won.  Because just two fish weren't enough we made three and put one of them on a zipline across the other fish from a high cabinet down to bottom of the fridge.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.

After a few minutes of blow fish, Owen wanted to go fishing.  We devised a sort of fishing rod from a piece of tape on a straw "hook,"  tied to the spool of thread.  He was quite happy to play by himself, while I tended to a crying baby and cranky toddler. 

Fishing!

Hook detail.

When I had a chance to do some fishing with him we had a good time, even though he said we couldn't eat any of the fish we caught for dinner.  I did of course string the fish across the kitchen in a way that I was constantly ducking under them to get to and from the kitchen.  Which is fine, except I had the baby in the Bjorn.  In case you are wondering, Baby Bjorn limbo is not really that fun and starts to hurt your back. So eventually, I took the fish down. When Hop arrived to help out for the afternoon, Owen wanted to show off his fish, and Hop helped assemble a three fish chain for fishing.  Since Hop is a fish expert, he knew what would be fun.

Three fish are better than one fish.

If you are wondering where my daughter is, she said "No pictures."

Three kids, one mommy, and one grammie

I'm helping take care of my sister's kids while she is on vacation.  You can keep up on the adventures of three kids, one mommy, and one grammie on my sister's blog http://thetribbetts.blogspot.com/

Yemaya really likes being here with her cousins, but is finding that two other kids means a lot less time in mommy's lap. It also means watching Owen play with his trains, and to never, ever, ever touch them (except when he is napping).

Contact and tissue paper flower

Yesterday we made a craft that I saw on some blog somewhere many months ago.

Basically you need 2 pieces of clear contact paper cut to the size of a sheet of paper, a piece of black construction paper, and little bits of colored tissue paper.  Just cut out the outline of a shape out of the construction paper and stick it to one piece of the contact paper.  Let the toddler stick as many tissue paper bits on as their attention span allows for.  Then stick the other piece of contact paper on and seal it up and put it on your window.

Instead of clear contact paper I bought frosty contact paper, not on purpose, but because I can apparently no longer read.  But don't worry I bought the big roll of it, so we will be making them "frosty" for awhile!  Yemaya loves stickers so this project was a bit like reverse stickers.  And other than a few bits of tissue paper on the floor it is a relatively mess free art project.  I'm not sure how other mothers let 1.5 year olds paint inside the house because we did it once, and I don't think we will do it again for quite some time.  The painting prep/clean up to toddler enjoyment time ratio was not what I like in a project.

But, the flower turned out real nice and looks pretty in our window. Today we made a butterfly.  I tried to get a picture of Yemaya with her flower, but she just cried and tried to hit the camera away, so here is her very sad face instead of her smile.

In the snow and a butterfly video

Well, we got a lot of snow this last week and Yemaya loved it! 


Also, I have had a few requests to make a certain "butterfly" video public. It was a thank you video for Grammie who gave Yemaya the really cool butterfly garden ornament. Enjoy!

Hansel and Gretel

"Mommy built this really nice kitchen for me, but I prefer to be cooked in the oven rather than cook"

A trip to the aquarium

On a rare holiday Monday we were able to take a trip into the big city
to see the aquarium. It was after all octopus week there and Yemaya
had recently learned to say something resembling octopus. I think that
octopus week is a sort of farewell to the octopus that the aquarium
was going to release back into the wild, but it is hard to catch the
finer points of an exhibit with a toddler leading the way.

We had lunch at the cafe and when I asked the bus boy if it was really
crazy because of the holiday, he said, "Well, you know it's octopus
week, so it has just been crazy." He may perhaps have one of the only
jobs where those words could be uttered and not sound crazy.

New canned goods

Picked up something extra at the canned goods section today.

Snow day

Eating snack inside while the snow comes down outside.

The family demands more!

I hear that everyone is missing us on the internet.  Our new, but old, house, active homemaking, and an active toddler are delaying blogging.  I recently finished de-wallpapering, painting and rewiring the heater in Ari's office and still have a bathroom wall to patch, a sink to replace and a new coat of paint as well.  Ari and I have learned to can, as the only way to deal with our winter CSA box.  I've sent time starting my own sourdough starter and mastering bread making (still working on the mastering part).  There is the yard that desperately needs tackling, and hopefully a vegetable garden soon.    During waking hours Yemaya and I go to a cooperative playschool one morning, and a Waldorf farm school toddler class another morning.  Yemaya loves the animals at the farm, but likes the chickens best.  Since I have been doing home improvement and various other tasks every hour that Yemaya sleeps, there is no time for blogging. This blog post means that Yemaya is having cereal for dinner, by herself in the kitchen! But you can see a bit of what we have been up to below.

The firemen came to playschool with the firetruck.

There are a lot of rainbows in PT.  Yemaya likes to walk at this pond to see ducks.

We are starting potty training, she was a bit confused this day.

The office, mid-renovation, wall paper off.

Pickled beets. Yummy!

She can sit at the big table now.

Successful no kneed bread.