Decomom's Dalliance

Friday, February 26, 2010

Update your blog, woman!

The post title is an almost direct quote from my husband. Here are the pictures as requested, my dear.

Declan had "beach day" at pre-school today. The heat was CRANKED up because baby, it's cold outside!

Declan, at lunch today, looking sweet:
And here is Brendan at lunch today wearing "Goo Goo Goggles" (his name for them)

We've been enjoying the snow around here lately. Snow Snow Snow. A veritable winter wonderland. But even Declan is ready for spring. He told that he likes the snow but it really should have snowed like this at Christmas, "instead of rain". Amen.

We went to the zoo last Saturday. Yes Beth, we even go to the zoo in the snowy months!
Still at the zoo:
Brian at the zoo
The jogging stroller is very handy at the zoo in winter: two boys fit snuggly, blankets too and you can cover the front with the rain cover thingy.
This is Declan in bird house at the zoo (I just like saying "at the zoo")
In front of the butterfly house, you know where:

Our dogs enjoy the snow too! Here is Daisy eating some:
And Rufus coming in for his close-up. Snow brings out the puppy in our nine year old basset hound. He runs, romps, barks and begs for someone to play with him. He does not seem to tire of it ever! :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Where did I leave off?

A common question of mine lately. "Where did I leave off..." with my knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, blogging and embroidering. I start a project, get distracted and go back to it at a later date. It is all good though. It is Good to have projects to work on. It is Good to be distracted because those distractions are typically my sons or my husband or cooking or cleaning - in other words, my life. And my life is all good right now. I have been lately realizing how blessed I am to be HERE, NOW, in this moment.

Ok, so a quick recap of Valentine's Day is in order. Brian bought me the most beautiful flowers (see pictures). Pink and peachy roses and tulips (he always gets me pink and peach since those are the colors from our wedding day) from him, sunflowers "from" Declan and daffodils "from" Brendan. Brian said that Brendan "chose" the daffodils because of a book that we read that has daffodils in it. I have told Brendan, while reading said book, that daffodils are my favorite flower. And Brendan, in turn, has told Brian, while reading said book, that those are "mommy favorite". So sweet. Meanwhile, Declan was "educating" Brendan about which flowers were the tulips and which ones were the roses. He explained that the tulips wear their leaves "like a dress" and the roses wear their leaves "like a collar". That kid is brilliant - I never thought of it like that at ALL. He came up with that gem all on his own.

And today is Ash Wednesday. I took the boys to church this morning to get ashes and talked to them about Lent and this season leading up to Easter. We talked about sacrifice and doing things so Jesus knows that we appreciate what He did for us. Declan volunteered to give up meat along with the grown-ups today and on Fridays. Now, that is a big sacrifice for a kid whose favorite rhyme is "What do we eat? We eat MEAT!"

Brian is making his traditional Lenten sacrifice of all beverages aside from water. So no coffee, no juice, no pop, no milk, no beer, no wine, no tea. It's a big sacrifice for him, and frankly for all of us, since his addiction to caffeine is HUGE and therefore, the withdrawal is HARD. He gets grumpy and I don't blame him but I am praying that it is easier for him this year and that he doesn't let it get the best of his mood and his enjoyment of our beautiful children (and wife, nudge nudge, wink wink). I am proud to say that he is also volunteering time for the church fish fry and for the homeless shelter. He is a good man.

You can see why I am feeling so blessed lately. I have a beautiful life, now time to get back to it! Where did I leave off, again?

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Bendaroos

Well, it's February already and I'm way behind on my blogging, photography and digital scrapbooking goals for 2010. I had hoped to create one new digi-scrap page per week and to post one "really good" photo per week. On the plus side, I've been very busy in other creative areas. I'm almost done with my very first knitting project. That's right people, I've graduated from practice pieces to something "real". In my case, a much needed glasses case. I've completed several embroidery projects, even a canvas tote bag. And I've been creating paper "art" in the form of inchies and cards. I'm feeling very blessed lately.

Speaking of blessed, today is the feast of St. Blaise and in Catholic tradition, we took the boys to mass to get their (and our) throats blessed. There was just one other family there, and lots of elderly people and some other "singles". I felt very peaceful while in church and since the blessing was for the throat, I couldn't help but think of my friend Beth who is battling throat cancer. Love you Bethy!

We also turned in the necessary paperwork for Declan to start kindergarten in the fall. It is surreal that he will be in the "big" school soon. This time with my small boys is so precious and fleeting. I must bemoan the fact that the boys are growing up often because Declan is quick to hug me and declare that he will NEVER leave me and that he will always be mine. Love that kid.

And on to the title of this post - Bendaroos. I just have to share the love we have for Bendaroos. I will declare that buying these things was the best $20 I ever spent. What is a Bendaroo, you ask? Well one Bendaroo is a string covered in wax. Lame, right? Well the TV commercial (like ALL TV commercials) made Bendaroos look impossibly cool to Declan.
Let me share our history: Before Declan's fourth birthday, he watched some television on Nick Jr, and Nick Jr, unfortunately, has (*gasp*) commercials. One of the commercials was for Bendaroos - which were only sold on TV or online at the time. (Now you can get them at Target or Toys R Us). Declan was smitten and begged for Bendaroos for months and months. He talked about them all the time. He often wanted what he saw on TV but generally only as long as the commercial was right in front of him. But he never relented in his quest for Bendaroos and would randomly recite from the commercial. So, for his birthday, he got Bendaroos! (And what a reaction - he was psyched!) I was skeptical-mommy and never expected Bendaroos to live up to the hype. I only bought them so Declan could feel that JOY when you finally get what you always wanted. I figured he would play with them for a few days and them get over it.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Bendaroos are FUN! And portable! And they don't make a mess! And even baby Brendan loves to squeeze them and bend them and unwrap big balls of them. You can spell your name with them. Stick them to paper. Stick them on your walls. Make jewelry (rings, bracelets, rings). Create animal buddies. Wrap Star Wars actions figures in them and pretend that they are frozen in carbonite (a peculiar household favorite).

I find myself telling other moms about Bendaroos whenever we are out and about. Bendaroos have created quiet, well-behaved children at church, restaurants, Dr.'s waiting rooms, in the car, watching siblings gymnastics' practice, etc. Moms often ask me what those "things" are that keep the boys so engaged and quiet and then I become Infomercial Mom. I admit it, I am sold on these things.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Knitting and other adventures

So, I am still determined to learn to knit. I practice every time we go somewhere in the car as a family - Brian drives and I knit. I'm horrible. I admit this. But I keep plugging away. I am not only determined to learn to knit for myself, but because I want to teach Declan that you CAN learn to do something, even when it's hard for you, if you just keep trying. There's a very catchy tune from a kid's show (Yo Gabba Gabba) called "Keep Trying" and I hum it to myself when I am contemplating the knotted mess that I call my "knitting". (I tried to find the video for keep trying, but no luck on youtube but here's a pic of the Yo Gabba characters on my windowsill).

So, I keep trying. My sister, Irene, knows that I am trying to learn to knit and so she talked about it with her husband's family one day. Her husband's brother is married to a lovely lady from Italy named Tina. Tina's mother, Melina, lives with them. Irene had a small birthday party for her daughter Ashley on Saturday and she invited Tina, Melina and family. They told Irene to tell me to bring my knitting needles. Well, to make a long story longer, I got a private lesson from these knitting wizards on Saturday night. They are so quick and so neat! I was in awe. Tina's husband calls them knitting nazis. He says that Melina and Tina sit down in the family room while he is watching football and whip out completed socks, blankets, scarves, hats, sweaters - you name it! Well, I learned a lot from them, despite the language barrier (Melina speaks almost no english and Tina's english is not perfect, especially when it comes to knitting terms LOL). I successfully completed a row under their watchful eyes! Hooray! But when I tried to replicate my success at home, I was disappointed. Ultimately what I learned is that I need to suck it up and get actual lessons. So that is what I am going to do. There is a little knitting shop about a mile from my house, called Ewenique Knits and they offer classes. Sign me up Scotty!

What else has been going on? Well, we FINALLY took down all the Xmas decorations in the house. We got the tree down on the 26th of December, but just got everything else (nativity, nutcrackers, mantle stuff, etc) put away yesterday. Brendan got up from his nap, took a look around and said "Ho Ho Ho - Where?!?" Too funny.

Still hand embroidering - it is seriously fun and easy. After a non-productive knitting attempt, I always take refuge in a quick embroidery success! AND, Declan does it too! He said he wanted to try so we went to the fabric store and got some big tapestry needles and his own embroidery hoop. So far, he's done his own name, a football and a monster. I just thread the needle for him, hand him the fabric (in the hoop) and he follows the lines that have been drawn on with pencil. Very fun and cute! Here is what I WANT to do and am working up to do:

From this place Sublime Stitching...Floral Fantasy Isn't it lovely?

Today is a holiday, so no school for Declan. He wants to know what we are going to do that is "fun and exciting" to celebrate. So we are having a picnic on the living room floor for lunch. Should be interesting with the 20 month old.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Hand Embroidery Madness

Well, I am recently obsessed with hand embroidery. I don't know how I got here, but here I am. I bought an embroidery hoop yesterday. Sketched a cartoon monster last night. Sketched it again this morning with a fabric marker on an old green pillowcase and went to work. I mostly used a split stitch which I learned from a youtube video. I'm super geeked b/c I can add details to all sorts of my clothes, the boys' clothes, tote bages, etc. And it's wicked easy!