Enchanted Mama

The good, the bad and the...::

I thought it might be nice to share a bit of this week and realized that there are many aspects to it.  Some rich and juicy.  Others not so shiny.  So, in an effort to show what is really happening in our lives as of today here you go...  

 

the bad and the ugly--

-I torqued my neck while swimming on Monday and have been askew since then. It seems to have gotten worse with spasms and I feel triple my age.  Plus, if anyone touches my neck I think I might scream. Oh, and did I mention the piercing headaches? Mostly, I'm upset because I've had to miss swimming the last few days.    

-My girlie got her ears pierced for her upcoming thirteenth birthday and the guy botched it.  One earring is too far toward her face and the other is too low AND too close to her face. The worst part is that she is disappointed.  Not what we were going for. 

-The big daddy's working hard to finalize preparations for the Friday Medieval Games.  He's been nicknamed "The Blur" by his family that love him so.  I'll be glad when I can see his face in focus again.

-And..pretty sure I killed the oven.  A shattered glass of water dripped down into the back of the stove.  It screamed at me for twenty minutes before I finally hit the circuit breaker.  So concerned about what "FO" meant that it didn't even occur to me to turn off the power. Plus, FO doesn't sound very nice if you ask me.  

 

the good--

-My neck isn't worse than three days ago.  So that's improvement.

-My girlie had her ears pierced for the first time.  That is a big day.  Lots of breathing in and out by this mama.  She's growing up.  Oh my.  Good stuff.  

-Once all the "stuff" is done the day of Medieval Games will be fabulous.  I will be able to share in the experience with my sixth grade girlie and the big daddy.  memory making stuff.  

-The baby is over her "whatever-pneumonia-ick" she had last week. Sleeping through the night again.  Wahoo!!!   

-I'm currently eating a lime popsicle.

-I plan to go to bed early tonight which makes me a bit giddy since it so rarely happens.

-I'm ready for my girlie to turn thirteen this weekend.  Gifts are wrapped in silks.  Cake is planned.  Memories of her birth story are surfacing and bringing a smile to remember my first baby born many years ago and yet it seems like yesterday. 

-It's almost summer. lazy mornings. time outside. flip flops. swimming. afternoon rainstorms.  laughter. reading. my youngest boy pouncing on grasshoppers and getting quite good at catching them, gently of course. love it all.

-The rain in the past few days has nestled in all the new seeds we planted over the weekend.  Even the secret ones that my little guy and I planted around our neighbors in the alley. ssshhhh.

What about you? 

 

 

***linking up with ink and chai*** 

 

 

Whoosh::

Whoosh went last week...

Yes, intentions must have been set too high.  I arrived back home late last Monday and I had photos of a weekend well spent with my brother and family. Time seemed to evaporate while I was there. 

You see my littlest brother turned thirty last Sunday.  Yup, littlest brother I said.  So, to honor who he is and show the love I have for him I swept down to his part of the world armed with cake pans and good chocolate.  

It actually felt ironic as I used to giggle when I watched my grandmother unpack her cooking supplies from her suitcase.  As though we didn't have a cake pan or rolling pin.  Yet, here I was back in my home town unloading my suitcase of the very same items.  Granted, my brother is a minimalist and doesn't believe in tons of kitchen items so...I justified it in my head.

 

The cake was made in his quiet kitchen while he leaned against the opposite wall reading and enjoying the hint of chocolate in the air.  The cake certainly wouldn't have won for any fancy fashion shows but man, it was DELISH!  The recipe is here.  You may want to add it to your list of sure things.  A chocolate and coffee combo--how bad can it be? 

 

My brother shared his tomato operation while I was there.  Do you remember these?  I realized that I LOVE photographing tomatoes.  They are such helpful subjects as they rarely move.  It allows for a great focus even when using a phone camera.  I took a few photos of those lovelies.  Yeah, just a few hundred. 

 

The trip a success all the way around.  

Once home I spent the time resting and catching up on all the things I needed to catch up on.  

My intention was to post about tomatoes and family and chocolate last week.  Oh well.  I'll apply the "better late than never rule" here.

The rest of the week included cello lessons and a new bow for my girlie.  A May Pole celebration.  A Spring assembly.  A Circus that my oldest girlie has been in training for since February.  Lots of circus practice.  I'm sure I shouldn't be so glad that it's over.  But, I am.  I think I'm going to like the single school pick-up today.  

There you go...a mini catch-up on the goings on over here.  

I'm working on making some changes to the 'ol blog.  Things that I've wanted to do for a while now and have not the "techie-ness" to figure out.  I'm okay with that.  There are so many other people out there who do know what they are doing.  God bless 'em.  Don't hold your breath though.  Just know they are on their way, sometime soon.  

I'd love to know what you all are doing today.  Anything good, fun, amazing, mundane, basic, boring.  I plan to live vicariously through you as my big plans include a trip to goodwill and hopefully clearing out more stuff.

That has almost become my mantra...sad but true.  

Happy Monday to you all and please do share...  

 

Celebrate::

I'm off to celebrate with one of the dear ones in my life.  He turns thirty and I wouldn't miss making him a cake and honoring him all day for a second.  I'll be back here on Tuesday.  

Have a lovely weekend!  Let's all play a bit shall we?    

Kellen

Her smile::

I can hardly resist her smile.  Or smiles I should say as there are so many different ones.  My goodness I do believe there is something magical about the eighteen to twenty-four month age.  Don't you think?  

There is just a certain level of cuteness and words and smiles and cuddles that are impossible not to be charmed by.  

 

I started this post to tell you about this dress.  It's out of the yarn I used for the leg warmers last week.  Fun yarn I tell you.  

Plus, there is something about it that seems to make it fly off the needles.  Which is good when you seem to be knitting and knitting with nothing but half sweaters to show for it.

Nice to have a sense of accomplishment once in awhile.  

 

So the Dress is actually modified from this top.  

I added some length and increased stitches to create an A-line dress.  What I love is.... I used one skein for the whole thing.  

It will be great for Spring as the mornings range from cool to snow on the ground.  It's just hard to know what the weather will do.  

The versatility of this dress will be just what we need for that.  

 

The best part of the photo shoot with this girl was that I kept telling her we were done taking photos and she kept saying, "No, one more." 

Hmm...ham anyone?

 

 

Beach time::

After visiting with family this past week, we headed to the coast to enjoy some beach time.  

One thing about living in the mountains is that we dream of the ocean.  To feel the water on our feet and the ocean breeze on our faces is pure heaven.  The sun came out thankfully and although the water was cold we braved the beach anyway.  

We were that determined. 

 

Our nineteen month old spent many happy hours playing in the sand and toddling around after the birds. She then proceeded to fall asleep in the big daddy's arms for a three hour nap.  

 

My four year old ran and ran and ran in and out of the water until his lips were purple and his hands were popsicles.  Then, he bundled up in towels and his hoodie to wait for a slight bit of warmth to return.  Only to do it all over again. Needless to say, he slept well that night.  

 

My eight year old was the ring leader in the boogie boarding adventures and braved the icy waters for most of the day.  Stopping for lunch but not much else.  He dug in the sand and made a HUGE sandcastle.  He even whispered, thankfully, that he had seen a shark in the water, "he thought, he wasn't sure, but probably and it was big-ish".  

 

My twelve year old was happy to luxuriate on land reading the whole time.  

Oh, how times have changed.  

It was a bit strange to have her next to me most of the day.  Though, I will admit the water was freezing by my standards and there was no way I was jumping in either so I don't really blame her for not wanting to swim.

And really, reading in the sunshine by the ocean what could be better?  

 

Knitting was accomplished by small bits at a time.  Enjoying the sun, the laughter and the crashing ocean.  The big daddy had a snooze while the baby slept on him.  

Relaxing it was.  oh yes.  

 

Overall a successful trip.  Time with family.  Meeting a new wee baby.  Catching up with friends.  Soaking up some sunshine and ocean breezes.  

Even the sandwich snatcher, pictured above,  couldn't ruin our time.  

And now...The laundry's done.  The house returned to some assemblance of order, as of this moment at least.  

I hope to make it to the sewing machine today.  As we are in that magical leap day which comes so rarely it feels as though it should be marked with some creative time.  What do you think?  

There's also knitting pieces to share with you in the next few days.

What do you have planned for today?

 

 

Landing::

We returned yesterday from a wee vacation with the family.  

A delightful time was had.  

A new baby cuddled.

Delicious friends were seen.   

An old family home visited.

Laughter was shared with brothers.

A huge water slide was played on.  

Shells discovered and some good ol' fashion sunshine enjoyed.  

Today, I will happily toss loads of laundry into the wash and spruce up just a bit.  More than likely, I will think about what to have for dinner and dream about all the things we did in such a short time.  

I wish you all the best on this here Monday.  

I'll be back as soon as I can get a few ducks in a row over here.  

Wish me luck.     

 

End of Week::

Valentines have officially been started.  There are many to be done and little time left to accomplish said task.  We will hope for good weekend Mojo and free time to create.  

My children are sniffling and snuffling.  Not a positive sign.  My plan includes a pot of soup and brewing up some tea.  Oh, and rest as I believe that would do us all a world of good.

The Big Daddy will be learning about fresh handmade pasta and sauces at chef school this weekend...and yes, we are happy about that.   

 

Various knitting projects are under way.  

My brilliant knitting buddy helped on Tuesday to puzzle through the "issue" with the Shimmer Sweater.  Yahoo!  I say brilliant because most knitters probably wouldn't have even noticed this glitch.  So, I will post information on Ravelry for those of you interested.  And, I will be giving full credit to my friend who figured it all out.  Thanks K!

There will be a Bach Cello performance on Sunday by my twelve year old which I'm sure will be lovely and quite an accomplishment for her.  Do you suppose it's normal for the parents to be more nervous than the children?  She performs so often in her Waldorf school with plays, music, public speaking, etc. so it nevers seems to bother her in the least.  Me? on the other hand?  Ner.Vous.  

 

The snow is still lovely yet, cold.  I've been a'shivering the last few days.  Needed to pull out a few more wool items which is honestly never a problem!  

We have the final performance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight this evening and then all the parents and sixth graders will enjoy a wee party.  Ah, I look forward to that.  

My wish...a relaxing weekend after what proved to be a "flurry" of a week.  

What are your wishes for the weekend?  

 

 

February Colors::

The snow is falling again today and there is a sense of quiet outside.   

I'm noticing the many colors around me--the rich chocolate brown, the taupe's, the grays, the golden yellow. And, the light.  The February light, that is both dramatic and stark at times yet, casts its own glow on everything.  

Plans are percolating for many different projects.  

Valentines need to be started soon since the number is over twenty-five and we've yet to do anything. 

I took a peek through my fabric yesterday and find myself drawn to spring ideas--skirts for me, shirts and dresses for the girls, pants for the boys.  Fun to dream about with the weather outside today.  Though I'm in no way rushing the snow as we have needed it so badly.  

The view from my chair is beautiful and if only we could find the snow shovel, which is undoubtedly under one of the big piles outside, we could clear a path to the car.     

 

Last night I assessed all my various knitting projects "in the works" and although I'm fine with multiple knits in progress I'm feeling the need to clean up and clear out.  I yearn for that sense of accomplishment.  The "last stitch in" kind of joy.  

Hopefully, you will be seeing some things here on the blog soon.  

Of course, not my shimmer sweater, as you can see it has been unraveled and now knit up to the eighth row, again.  Where I'm sure there must be a mistake.  Same spot as last time and I was quite meticulous in my knitting.  Well see.  My two knitting buddies are braving the snow to come over for a bit today and have some knitting time.  Between the three of us, I hope, we can figure this thing out.     

 

I decided I needed to wear some glitter today to perk up.  I feel a bit less than sparkly today.  

How do you do it morning people out there????  I try to wake earlier and end up tired and uh-hmmm, grumpy.  What time do you go to bed?  That may be my problem as my night owl tendencies leave little room for sleeping in between.   

The "clearing out" journey of January continues in the basement.  I tried to convince my children over the weekend that it would be FUN to help out this mama but they weren't having it.  Granted there was epic snow outside so I don't blame them in the least and it was a great excuse to put it off until Monday.

What I find is that the more you clear out the bigger mess the rest of your house gets to be.  Moving a table from downstairs yesterday created an entire shuffle of furniture in the living room AND dining room.  

Yes, there are bonuses to said "mess".  It's a fresh start of sorts and I'm sitting at the table by the window writing this as we speak.  So, if I turn just so I can almost pretend that there are no piles sitting by the back door waiting to be liberated.  The huge mirror leaning against the armoire behind me, isn't there as long as I don't turn around.  You know simple clearing out coping mechanisms.  

I think I'm done.  Thanks for listening...   

What are your plans for today?  

 

 

Snow Day::

Today, school has been cancelled.  An official snow day after no "real" snow since October.  

It's hard to know what we will do first...  

::Already we've enjoyed a warm breakfast without the rush to get to school.  

::Books have been read.  

::Snow shoveling has commenced.  

::Snowflake catching has been sighted.  

::Boys, so anxious to get outside, are wearing their pajamas under their snow suits.  

::Inside there are lattes, knitting and a warm fire.  

::There may even be some sledding and snow shoeing happening this afternoon. 

If I didn't know any different I'd say this day is looking up!  

Have a great weekend and see you back here next week. 

Love, 

Kellen

 

p.s. Anyone else see the tiny hearts at the ends of the branches in the first picture?  so cool.  

 

Pause::

Yesterday morning as I rushed out the door to get the children to school on time, slipping through the ice, carrying the cello, gym shoes and someones lunch box, I wished for the hundredth time that we had left earlier.  

Why, when leaving for school at the same time each morning, does it always seem to be a scramble in the last five minutes?!!??  Backpacks flying.  Someone isn't finished with breakfast.  Someone else hasn't even thought to brush their teeth, put on their shoes or find their gloves.  Every morning.

Our big daddy's been down and out since Saturday because of a "long-underwear-back-wrenching-situation".  Though, if you ask him, he's attempting to come up with a better story...like a guy and a thing and some sort of scuffle, you know.  So we were on our own in terms of an extra pair of hands.  

I slip into the front seat of the car and throw my purse down beside me.  One look in the rear view mirror shows all the children, phew, in their seats so I start up the engine.  Instinctively I reach up to hit the defrost and wipers at the same time when I see the ice crystals clinging to the windshield.  

Just sitting there looking amazing.  

So there we are--late, rushing, wishing for more time.  I paused.  Thought briefly and then pulled out a camera to capture the light.  I breathe.  Inhale beauty.  Mother Nature leaving her own type of message. 

 

It's been cold.  Rosy cheeks.  Toe numbing.  Snow, Melting, Freezing, Snowing again, kind of weather.  Ridiculously cold and quite dreary.  Yet, when the sun finally decided to peek through there it was, A Winter Wonderland. 

That was the moment.  Ice crystals on my windshield back-lit by the sun.  That was when I slowed down.  December can be about remembering to wait and watch.  To see what is literally right in front of us.   

 

And, that's what I did.  With all the children in the back staring at this mama, I took a breath and recognized the magnificence around me.  Then just as quickly, I focused on the road, the clock and delivering my girl to school while still driving in a sane manner.  

Note to self...She was there on time.  

In fact, we all got to the places we needed to be and I remembered that moment all day.  Happier.  Probably even more productive.  So there.  Proof for myself that pausing can make a BIG difference.  Even if my daughter had been late.

I'm attempting to hold onto that beauty as I traverse another day in this holiday season.  Wishing for more time.  Wondering why I didn't start sooner.  Knowing that it comes the same time each year.  Oh my... 

How is December treating you?  

I hope she's being kind....