The Darnedest Things

There's that phrase that's said when we hear those mistakenly witty, innocently truthful statements from our kids. Like yesterday, por ejemplo, Mazzy was discussing facial hair and its relation to gender with her dad and said, "NO, girls don't have beards! But I saw a lady at the Nutcracker who had a mustache!"

Then there was that major test of willfullness to not fall down laughing, and instead show the dignified compassion you'd like them to show. So I ducked behind the counter for a minute and when I composed myself, I stood up and calmly explained that there are exceptions to every rule, and that everyone's beautiful in their own way. No help from Daddy, of course, who was doubled over for about ten minutes.

I digress.

Just as often, though, I hear myself say some pretty ridiculous things in response to my kids. Sometimes grossly oversimplifying and sometimes trying in vain to explain things much too complicated for them to understand.

My two-year-old is chin deep into her "Why?" phase. All parents know what I'm talking about. Well, it only takes about three or four "Why?s" before you get into complex physics or existentialism.

"Eden, you have to put a jacket on before you go outside."
"Why?"
"Because it's cold."
"Why?"
"Because it's Winter."
"Why?"
"Well, because at this point in our planet's orbit around the sun, the part of the Earth we live on is tilted away from the.... oh wait, you're two. Just put your jacket on."

I blurt out some good ones when I'm frustrated, too. Like last night I was just about finished with my homemade lentil soup, with a loaf of homemade bread in the oven when Eden came into the kitchen covered in a mysterious clear gelatinous substance. I followed her into the bathroom and saw that she had been busy spreading an entire bottle's worth of Corn Husker's Lotion all over the floor, and I said, "Oh nice. Way to ruin this golden Martha Stewart moment!" as I stomped off to get some towels.

Even better, though, if you can remember that long ago, are those things we used to say before the kids arrived. Things like: "I'm never going to say 'no' to my kids unless I have a really good reason"; or, "I'm not going to be one of those moms that cuts the crust off her kids' sandwiches"; or how about "my kid will eat what I eat. None of that short order cook crap." Ha!

Well, there's something very humbling and comforting in knowing that we're all in this together. We'll all get smarter and communicate more effectively, but hopefully we'll stay innocently truthful.

Better Late?

I know this is so last year, but I have to share some holiday snippets.

Here are Mazzy and Eden about to embark on their first attempt at ice skating. Note the worried look on E's face and her death grip on Mazzy's hand. She didn't let go the whole time.

And here we are warming up after that.

Here they are with their "Swedish Fish Snowman" on a play day in the snow. (It was Eden's turn to wear the hat.)

Here we are warming up after that.

This is the world as it looked to us when we woke up on Christmas morning. It was still, silent and glittering white as far as the eye could see.
We were inside for most of that day drinking hot cocoa and playing reindeer games.

Another year gone, a new one rolling out before us.

Happy New Year!

(now, back to work;)

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Entangled

Call me super lame, if you like, but I'm not ashamed to admit how excited I am about knitting.

That's right, knitting.

I've found myself with enough time on my hands to get to a few wooly projects that have been shelved for a while and it makes me happy like I can't even explain. Like when you rub a dog's belly and they shake their leg because it feels so good... that's me with my needles in hand.

I just finished a prototype pair of fingerless ball-length gloves for Mazzy, and now I'm onto this hat, which is a refreshing change from this hat. After that and some quick Christmas caps (more, more, MORE!!) I'm hoping to create a new original something-or-other to add to the DamestarBaby collection.

Until then, I'll be blissfully floating on a sea of center-pull yarn balls, and Daddy can do diapers and dinner.

Dear Santa........

I hope you like my letter. Please I would like a microscope and a sleeping bag with horses on it.
Thank you
Love, Scarlett

Claymation

Nothing like a little food coloring and glitter to make the season bright!

Catching Up

Much has happened since we last posted. Including Thanksgiving; a day which was much too full of food, friends and family to fit any blogging in.

Then, of course, we got right back to business and hauled our wagon full of wares to Bazaar Bizarre. You didn't think we were going to skip that, did you? Now that we've decompressed, I'll tell you about it.

We rose before daylight and made our way through ridiculous morning fog and wound up in San Francisco with enough time for some pre-show coffee from a corner cafe. Mmmmm. We got lots of funny looks from pedestrians and the toll booth ($6!!) lady because of the large craggy tree on top of our car. The whole day had a sort of country-bumpkins-in-the-big-city feel to it, (which is a label I wear with pride, thank you very much) especially since this was our craft show debut.
Well, we hit the scene (a more-or-less empty warehouse) and found our spot (#18, baby!).

We snapped a couple "before" shots.We unpacked and un-treed the car and our booth turned out looking awesome, if I do say so myself. The day went by in a flurry of DJ beats, people watching, receipt writing, question answering, refolding and rehanging and lots of compliments on our flagship photo.

Oh, and we sold quite a few things, too.


It was great to get out and take the same DIY approach to selling our goods as we do in making them.


As for the big branch, any feelings of guilt I had about cutting it off of its mother tree gave way to secret pride sitting there next to it all day. After all, we plucked it out of obscurity and brought it on a pretty exciting adventure. It was totally worth the work and made for a one-of-a-kind display in a sea of tables and racks. And this is surely not the last you'll see of it, as it's taken on a new Christmasy incarnation at Amy's house. More on that later.


Thanks for indulging us in a little hiatus. Stay tuned for some Holiday Crafting Chronicles!


Oh, and there are lots of craft shows going on all over. I highly suggest checking one out if you have the ways and means. It's a great way to spend a Sunday.