A Perfect Weekend Indeed!

The children were so happy to be with Daddy...

They didn't realize he was using them as a form of cheap manual labor.

And I.....

Need buttons for Pork Chop's new sweater.

The Triumphant Return of Saturday!

Speaking of things you can count on, when we moved here three years ago I resigned myself to the fact that we would never have a normal schedule again. Due to the nature of his job The Greatest would almost always work nights/weekends/holidays/unusual schedules.

This was fine.

We enjoyed his company when he was home and we made the rest up as we went along. We discovered how nice it is to grocery shop on a Monday afternoon, the stores are delightfully empty but the produce choices can be sketchy. We also found out Thanksgiving can be served on Wednesday without the Holiday Police bashing down our door and confiscating the cranberry sauce. And did you know Santa will sometimes send an Elf to deliver presents a day early so Daddy can enjoy the joy of "Christmas Morning"?

All of this is fine and even fun. It all seemed to fit perfectly with the insanity that is the rest of our lives.

Isn't everyone else just making it up as they go along?

But lo and behold The Greatest got a promotion. He prefers to be addressed as "Detective" now, Thank You Very Much! I'm so proud of him. With this unexpected promotion came a very unexpected schedule change. Barring any dead bodies, or armed robberies, or other acts of criminal deviance, The Greatest is once again working Banker's Hours!

Home for dinner. Here for bath time. Bring on the lazy weekends.

A few hours spent working our children like house elves, then the rest of the day is all college football, grilled meat, too much junk food, video games, and of course, casting on for a new knitting project.

Because finishing old knitting projects on a lazy Saturday would feel too much like work.

Just Like Clockwork

Something you can depend on. You just know they are going to happen every single day. The familiarness of it all can be quite comforting. When times are uncertain I need these gentle reminders that life is the same.

I know that no matter what else happens I can count on the fact that....

Each day will come to an end, without fail, usually with a beautiful sunset. And the children will go to sleep. I can forgive them for all they've done that day when they're safely tucked into their beds for night.

Every day after school my son must spend some alone time here. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Right after school. Even on early release day. And you must not interrupt him or it makes for an unpleasant evening.

At any given moment I will have a pile of knits in my closet that are in desperate need for some finishing work. Most of these items will never make the blog.

And Every Single Year, without fail, Pork Chop will be made Student of the Month!

Her Teacher must have decided not to fight the inevitable and just give Pork Chop the award first thing this year. At the award breakfast her Teacher confessed that she wished she could clone Pork Chop and have a whole class just like her. I love being the parent of "That Child."

Congratulations Pork Chop. Daddy and I are so proud of you!

Welcome October!

Why Hello Blog, my beloved friend.

You are so good to me, always patiently waiting for me to come and visit with you. Never pressuring me. Just faithfully waiting. You deserve so much more than I have given lately. I apologise for that.

All summer long you were left out. I apologise for that too.

I spent lots of the summer thinking "Enjoy this while it lasts."

A sense of foreboding has been following me. I feel the need to enjoy every smile from my children, every belly laugh with a good friend, every stolen moment with The Greatest. Not just in the enjoy and live in the moment kind of thinking, but to really consciously commit it to memory, to lock away every second, the light, the sound, the smell, every tiny bit of it. The joy, the frustration, the love. These are the good days, the cherished memories. Someday I will pull these memories out of my mind, dust them off, and smile fondly as I remember this special summer. I don't know what is on the horizon that made this summer so especially special, but I feel it, change is a-coming. Good times must be balance by challenge. We only improve in the refiners fire. This summer felt like a respite from harsher times, the calm in the eye of the storm, but only a moment of breathing room, not an actual end to the trails. I felt unusually grateful for every minute of it.

So in the midst of all this laughing and smiling and kissing I was just a little too busy for the blog.

When I woke up this morning I stepped outside and realized it was a might bit chilly (72 degree, I know, feel free to mock), and the calendar say October 1st. It occurred to me that despite the high temperature I know are coming today, and despite the absence of pretty colored foliage, it is Fall, with a capital F. And because it is October 1st, it is officially the start of what I consider to be "The Holiday Season!"

I love The Holiday Season. It is simply my favorite time of year. You get Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all back to back to back. Candy, Comfort Food, and Presents! What's not to love about that?

And I'm ready for every second of it.

Hard times are already back. September was such a horrible month I'm glad it is over! The less said about it the better. The best thing I can say about it is I'm glad I lived through it with The Greatest. He is my rock, and my best friend, and my soul mate (and I don't believe in soul mates). I hope that no matter what else comes our way we remember to continue to go through it together.

As far as I can see times are hard for everyone. Everyone I know is just trying their best to survive. I'm a worrier by nature. I have to worry. I have to ponder the worst case scenario and prepare. I have to be prepared. I worry about those I love. But all these things that are keeping me up at night are simply out of the realm of what I can control. For some reason the universe won't put me in charge, so all this stuff I just can't fix or change. It must simply be endured.

So while I'm enduring I'm going to focus on the good stuff. I'm going to take The Holiday Season and focus on more of the good stuff. And I've decided to take you along for the ride dear blog.

Some of the Summer was so happy when I tried to blog it felt like I was bragging, and I don't mean to boast or brag. If you've been around my blog long enough you know I show you all the ugly parts, not just the pretty shiny surface. For a simple knitting blog I can sometimes get quite deep. I knew of several friends who were having the worst summer ever and I hated to so publicly state that my life felt picture perfect when I knew they were struggling so hard with their own challenges. It seemed insensitive to their trials. The contrast seemed cruel. But my life isn't picture perfect. The Greatest and I fight. The kids whine, oh how they can whine. I don't think I cleaned the kids bathroom all summer, that was definitely not picture perfect. We have bills that may or may not be getting paid on time, my checking account is most definitely not picture perfect. But all summer long I had all these little slices of perfect happiness. These little moments of pure joy. I still hate to mention it. I'm debating erasing the paragraph and trying to write my point again with out sounding so boastful.

So what is my point?

My point is simply this I've decided to be happy.

The End.

I've also decided not to apologise for being happy and Pollyanna-ish, and looking for the bright side. (see I left my boastful paragraph, I'm trying so hard to not apologise).

And I'm taking my blog along for the ride.

You've been there to laugh with me, to cry with me, to mourn with me, to change with me, and you should get to celebrate these little perfect slices with me too!

So here's to a Joyous Holiday Season! On tap for October: Costumes, Candy, Visiting Relatives, and, in case you hadn't noticed, PUMPKINS!

And then there are days like today...

Sometimes there are days when knitting just works.

Everything magically clicks into place and knitting is the relaxing hobby it is meant to be. The yarn is beautiful. The colors are deep and mesmerizing. You've saved this yarn for two years before finding the PERFECT pattern to knit with it. After two years one wonders if the yarn is really that good. Can it live up to the hype? And let me assure you it does. It effortlessly flows through you hands. The colors, oh the colors. I love to watch them appear and change before my eyes. And the pattern. The pattern is challenging enough to hold your interest but not so taxing it makes you want to pull your hair out. As you knit a sock magically appears before your eyes. You get to take pleasure in the process of creating. The children are even behaving as you knit. Everything is as it should be.

Until you realize that will all the mesmerizing and waxing poetic about knitting you missed this.

Did you see that right there? Let me circle it for you.

A dropped stitch.

Sometimes there are days when knitting just doesn't seem worth it.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Behold the dreaded "Potty Chair"

How I hate the potty chair. But seeing as how Sweet Pea has taken to removing her diaper when she poops without telling anyone, and I'm so very tired of having her sit on my lap with a poopy butt resulting in a rousing game of "find all the other places Sweet Pea has sat" I think it is time.

I know I've already said it, but I feel so strongly about this I'm going to say it again. I HATE the potty chair. Just something about cleaning it out gets to me. I managed to train Bird directly on the real potty just to avoid cleaning the potty chair. But Sweet Pea is so very small I know she won't feel comfortable on the big potty just yet.

I hate the potty chair.

As she wandered around last night all nuddie booty I was struck by just how slim she has become. How tall and lean her body is getting. She seems to be skipping the toddler phase and moving right into a little girl's body.

It seemed just yesterday I was wandering around unable to take a shower because she needed to be cuddled every minute of every day.

And now I wander around unable to take a shower because if I leave her unattended for a single second she paints the tile with nail polish, or gives herself a tribal tattoo with a sharpie.

*sigh* As I type this she just tried to wander into the living room with a stolen pen. How is it I can never find a pen or a sharpie when I need one, but she seems to know where they all are?

My baby is growing. It makes me wistful and sad. What a shame I can't talk The Greatest into giving her a baby brother. I've already used my "just one more" card. He isn't going to fall for that line again. I guess I'd better prepare to move on to the next stage of life. Can anyone tell me what the next stage is?

Oh, Monkey See......

Well, I finally feel like we are falling into the new rhythm of busy school year combined with The Greatest's new work schedule. There are still a few bugs and kinks to work out, but a new "normal" is emerging. This is good. As I get older I find myself grooving on quiet normal days. It sounds ordinary and boring, and it might be. But trust me, the children find all kinds of new and inventive ways to "mix it up" and keep my on my toes. (Does anyone know how to get crayon out of my lovely new table cloth?)

Sweet Pea no longer fusses as the older children leave for school. Instead she contently waves them "bye-bye" throwing in a few kisses for good measure. She has discovered that life with Mommy is not so bad. There is unfettered access to all the toys, hours of book reading, afternoon swims where no one splashes her, peaceful trips to run errands where she is the center of attention, and even the occasional lunch out. Its not such a bad gig. And despite my best intentions I am beginning to understand why the youngest always ends up so spoiled.

I fear she might be spending just a little too much time alone with me.

Friday, after the older children had left for school, I turned on Dora to keep Sweet Pea company as I attended to a few chores. Sweet Pea usually watches for a bit, joins me in my chores for a bit, wanders back to Dora for a bit. Its all good.

As I unloaded the dishwasher (a favorite chore of Sweet Pea's) her absence was quite noticeable. I peeked around the corner to make sure everything was alright. She was contently sitting on the couch watching Dora WITH MY KNITTING ON HER LAP. I tried not to hyperventilate. The project in question was a shawl with roughly eleventy billion stitches on the needle. I was currently in a middle of short row shaping with picked up stitches, and lots of stitch markers, and did I mention the eleventy billion stitches. If she pulled out the needle, or even dropped a bunch of stitches it would be disastrous. I knew I would never get it back together right and would likely have to start over or abandon the entire project.

Fearfully I crept closer to peek over the back of the couch and assess the damage. I silently prayed that she had simply pulled it onto her lap for warmth. As I drew nearer this is what I saw.

Notice that the needles are in her hand. She was very slowly rubbing them back and forth against one another as she watched TV.

In her little mind she was KNITTING! Knitting as she watched TV, just like Mommy. I'm not sure if I'm proud or embarrassed. My sweet baby girl. Could I love her anymore?

It turns out I could.

She didn't drop any of my stitches.