Differentiation.

"The restroom is not a potty. A rest room is where your bed is." --Wesley, age 3.5.

Between bites of hot dog Wesley proclaimed these wise words to Mario tonight at dinner. Such a wise child yet he struggles with what actually happens on a potty.

Adrenaline and Heat

Dinner and the grocery store technically can count as a date but hardly justifies $40-$50 in babysitting fees. Ethnic food and Target is a little bit better on the date spectrum but still pretty expensive for a babysitter.

So we just stopped having dates and started ordering carry out. Exotic...I know.

But then one day while driving around the red minivan with corn nuts permanently wedged in the crannies brilliance came to me. Get a sitter to come over earlier. While it is still light out. While you can do something outside. While things are still open.
So the lovely Miss Rebecca came over at 4 PM. We met friends at the Stronghold Athletic Club for rock climbing and I fell in love. Wowsers. I almost passed out when we first went inside the 40 ft. tower and looked up but once I started climbing I realized that it was totally a game of strategy. I loved thinking through where to put my hands and feet. The height didn't matter at all because for all practical purposes was irrelevant.

Mario took rock climbing at William and Mary (they have a PE requirement, I took tennis and badminton). I think he liked it too, but I woke up this morning wanting to go and do it again more than anything. My wish list of stuff I want in life now includes rock climbing shoes and a harness.

But after all of that we needed some food. And beer. So we had a little wing ding odyssey. We hopped around to different wing places to taste and compare wings around town.

The route:

Wild Hare in the Vista

Velas in West Columbia
Cock n Bull on Rosewood

Public House on Devine Street

I have no desire for wings anytime in the near future. Mr. Buffalo was a very happy man. We had many many wings left over in tiny to go boxes that filled our refrigerator until he ate them today for breakfast and lunch.

Our inspirational pro rock climbing and wing ding friends joined us for the first part of the route and took these cool pictures. We are looking forward to a lot more 4 PM dates this spring and summer. It's amazing how many date possibilities open up by scooting the arrival time forward.

Added bonus: We got out of kid dinner duty.

Fill me. Thrill me.

1 piece linen.
1 piece jute.
1 embroidery hoop.
1 free hand owl design.
1 needle.
Cotton cord.
1 Sunday night.
===============
A produce bag

The Pack Rat Vintage and Handmade shop in Five Points sponsored a craft night from 5 - 8 PM on Sunday. Three Bad Seeds sponsored the above lesson and craft for anyone that wanted to try their hand at embroidery.

Plus they had cookies with luscious pink frosting and sprinkles.

So a bunch of us sat around talking about thrift stores, crochet, knitting, embroidery, craft shows, produce markets, and the Columbia craft scene. Much fun and a very cool make and take.

Birthday Party Art.

Party: 10:30 - Noon.
Date: Saturday, January 29.
Place: Tagit Art.
Theme: Hello Kitty.
Age group: A lot of 5 year olds!
Mama Impression: Wow!

Snip! Snip!

No. Not that kind of snip snip.

Just the necessary snip snip that comes after tears and fighting after baths, before school, and any other time that might involve a barrette or brush. I love this child's hair. I hate taking care of her hair because of the screaming it involves. So. We cut a deal. Literally.

She chose to cut her hair a bit shorter rather than brush her hair in agony each night.

For her second only 'real' hair cut we went to the exclusive Great Clips salon where they had a $5.99 hair cut sale. She sat on the booster, wore the cape and even let them use the blow dryer.

Viola! $5.99 plus tip later we have a super cute chin length bob, a mother daughter date, and a tear free post bath evening.

Two inches of hair has made life so much better.

I wonder what else we can do without that will also make our lives better.

A southern feast.

My current diet to gain weight = Krispy Kreme dark chocolate kreme doughnut.

My favorite way to gain weight = parties at Lorien's house.

Last night a group of Lorien's friends put together a spread dictated by Ms. Louisiana herself that made my belly very very happy. The party was a no guilt, no shame, totally indulgent joyful experience for the senses.

The experience just confirmed my belief that my personal world needs more deviled eggs, paper plates, and ranch dressing.

• Fried pickles.
• Fried okra.
• Pimento cheese.
• BLT stuffed tomatoes.
• Deviled eggs.
• BBQ.
• Coleslaw.
• Fruit.
• Phyllo asparagus cheese wraps.
• Black bottom pecan cheesecake pie.
• Hurricanes.
• Abita.
• Bourbon chicken tenders.

My contribution:

BACON - STUFFED CHERRY TOMATOES

Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.

2 lb. bacon, diced
1/2 c. finely chopped green onions
1/2 c. mayonnaise
24 cherry tomatoes

Dice bacon. Fry until crisp. Drain and cool and paper towels. In a medium bowl, mix bacon, green onions and mayonnaise. Remove stems from tomatoes. Place tomatoes stem side down on cutting board. Cut a thin slice off tops. With a small spoon, scoop out pulp. Invert tomatoes with bacon mixture. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Makes 24 appetizers.

Beauty and Botox

I was at the neurologist office for two hours and forty five minutes yesterday. I knit a nervous Botox scarf, I wrote nervous Botox journal entries, I said nervous Hail Mary prayers over and over with increasing speed and I zoned out in the treatment chair. I wonder where the speed prayer skills came from? Or how many Hail Mary's I got out during that time?

The nurses said there was an emergency at the office earlier in the day which backed things up.

I had a bag filled with things to do, child care arranged, and aside from the raging dissonance inside my head about the actual treatment and myself, things felt okay.
Eventually I handed over new insurance cards, the awful new pharmacy card, and paid my $40 co pay to the office clerk. Despite many conversations with our health insurance company we do not know how much of the final bill we are responsible for. The most we can get out of anyone is that we owe $40 but Mario and I know that there will be more.

The nurse gave me new prescriptions tailored for the mail order pharmacy, handed me a printout about the Caldera neck brace and told me sit in the treatment chair. (Think dentist chair crossed with a spa?)I skipped over the nerve blocks and opted for some general numbing to kill the current headache from the overdose of fluorescent lighting.

And then I took a nap. Seriously. It was taking a long time. Dr. Hammett rocks because he takes a really long time with each patient, but when you are not the patient that he's with, well, that also takes a really long time. I put my scarf over my eyes and went into a deep sleep.

Eventually he came in with two magical bottles containing a total of 200 units of Botox. Retail value $1,600.

I hate watching my kids get shots. I hate watching my own blood being drawn. It's fine to do things with needles around me, I just choose not to watch. But those needles yesterday. They. Fascinated. Me.

They held hope. Long runs. Books. Night driving. Computer screens. Orgasms. Tiny numbers inside my camera that would teach me how to take decent photos. Music. Good life stuff that I miss all drawn up in those things and I didn't want to miss a single second or drop of that Botoxy goodness.
And then he stuck me. Where?

All across my forehead.
Between my temples and ears along the hairline.
At the base of my skull.
In my neck.
Between my eyes.
In my shoulders.

Did it hurt? No.
Did it help? Not yet.
Will it help? Apparently I won't know for two weeks.

And in two weeks I will start looking like a dork by wearing a neck brace because I won't be able to hold my head up as well. Tonight I ordered the suggested neck brace (and I will knit a groovy scarf to wear around it) with expedited shipping just in case my head starts to feel like it is going to fall off.

I still have wrinkles.
I still have frowny marks.
I still have headaches.

But the stress of actually doing it or not doing it is over because it is done. Now I am just waiting for it to work.

**Photos courtesy of Ms. Lorien Owens at http://www.owensfamilyadventures.wordpress.com/.

Can you feel it yet?

Nope. Not yet.

More details on the 200 units of botox I had injected in my head for migraine treatment today coming soon.

Geesh.

Thus far I just have a headache.

On staying calm.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Take photos.

The kids know to stay away from me if I have my camera and I'm on my belly in the middle of the kitchen floor trying to take a picture of a can of spilled cashews. This they sense is an odd behavior. One that demands a step back and a puzzled silence.

They knew to stay absolutely still when I started taking pictures of them smearing gobs and gobs of my expensive lotion all over themselves in my bathroom a few weeks ago.

Mommy got perspective. Mommy got evidence. And then I figured out what to do next. Mini brooms and dustpans arrived in the hands of children. Towels rubbed against silky smooth and fragrant skin. Bottles returned to their rightful homes, cashews moved to higher ground beyond our wooden stool's highest reach, and the afternoons progressed.

Self Explanatory.

This seems to have all of the ingredients of success.

**Clarity.
**Simplicity.
**Peer pressure.
**Parental sacrifice.

If you poop in the potty THREE times then we will take you to Chuck E. Cheese. That's it. That's all we are asking for right now. Clare gets it, she asks him all of the time if he needs to go. We ask him even though we loathe the idea of going. Wesley even understands and can explain to you the cost benefit analysis of pooping on the potty.

Yet...two boxes remain empty.

Patty's Scarf

Another mobius method scarf.
Wrap it twice for a soft warm cowl.
Made from seven different kinds of yarn on size 50 needles.
I love making these.

Love Craft.

There are five love languages.

Clare speaks in 1. quality time, 2. ice cream and 3. craft.

Luckily we both speak in craft. Today we had a 'sick' today together which included some snuggles, medicine bribery, some yarn shopping, and the start of a hand sewn heart garland.

After constructing the second heart (cutting out a waffle box template, tracing the hearts, cutting the felt, sewing the felt, stuffing the heart, and keeping everything on the string) Clare lost interest. Luckily this is also a project that mama wanted to do so I can continue on in snippets between sibling love quarrels, imaginary laundry folding, and whatever else it is that I am supposed to be doing today.

Soon we'll have a love display to hang between our kitchen and dining room. I hope that it will remind me to practice greater love in the smallest morsels of each day. I've got the morning/night/school drop off and pick up down. I just want them to know that I love them more than in those moments. I also want and need to remind myself that I love them in the midst of the awful tearful obnoxious moments. Sometimes I forget. Maybe it's easier to deal with the chaos if I forget?

A visual reminder will be a good thing.

Funfetti.

The secret words to melt my heart: Mama will you make me __________.

In the middle of the latest knitting flurry Clare asked me to make her a scarf. I don't think I could finish the project on my needles fast enough to begin hers. We, or rather she, went through the yarn stash and selected a unique combination of colors. Yellow velvet chenille, a pink/blue/lime boucle, pink and white cotton, and a few acrylic color changers in the pink family. Whoa.

But they actually look pretty good together! The scarf has a really nice texture component and makes me crave one of Aunt Mikie's birthday cakes. I'm lamenting that there's not a birthday on the horizon to justify one of her cakes, it's been awhile since we've had the pleasure of waking up in the middle of the night just to eat cold cake from the refrigerator. Good stuff. Scarves for wee ones and cake with sprinkles. (One of the best birthday cake sequences ever HERE.)

Pants not Required.

They don't eat food but they do like to play in the kitchen. Actually, they eat crackers but those do not technically qualify as meals unless 1. we are on the road, 2. the child is under age two, 3. Mommy has a migraine.

I am meeting with a nutritionist next week to get some additional help figuring out what to feed Wesley. The soy and dairy allergies are kicking us where it hurts and frankly we are tired of the ongoing challenge. Our hope is to leave with some fresh ideas to get us out of our current food rut otherwise know as the cracker streak.

So since we don't actually need silverware for eating our cracker meals we decided to let them go ahead and play with all of the pieces last night. We think it is important that they maintain a certain level of familiarity with spoons and forks just in case we go back to eating regular food.

And if we decide to take them out to a restaurant we will have the extra challenge of wearing clothing to meals too. Personally, that just sounds like too much trouble considering they probably won't eat anything anyhow. I think I'd rather save our pennies for a babysitter and go out for a meal they would definatley hate with my beloved.

B is for Botox

I know.

Apparently I am an ideal candidate for botox to knock out these migraines since nothing else seems to be working and we are on month five of massive pain, massive drugs, and massive life interruption.

I never knew I'd grow up to be the poster child for botox.

Thankfully I can't read or research online right now (or run or drive at night) so I am going on a lot of blind faith and hope.

So it will be me and the big B next Wednesday with blessings from the insurance company at 3:00 PM.

After that I should have a story or two to share. I cannot wait to check out a book, to go for a run, to read lots-o-Internet stuff, and to drive somewhere all-by-myself at night. I'd say they were cheap thrills but after the past five months and whatever this little procedure might cost on Wednesday I think I am more inclined to call them exotic luxuries.

Put your dukes up.

Today I feel stuck. I have a lot of things that I would like to do, most would not interest anyone but this mixed up bunch of cells that I call myself, but I am hindered by stuff.

What stuff? The usual: kids, snot, poop, gravity, migraines, appointments, weather, potential migraines, darkness, fear, money, space, time, timing, fighting, proximity to a chicken store, bed times, Mario, library fines, and milk expiration dates.

I can't figure out what to buck up and shake off and what I actually need to succumb to and face. I'm getting good at ignoring snot and poop, bed times can be blown off every so often, milk isn't mandatory around here and I have drugs for migraines. However I am figuring out that I suck at blowing off the taunting and teasing and sibling fights. Make that S U C K at it. I zone out, go deep deep deep inside myself and just hope that nobody gets hurt. When I do come out to deal with it all, I am not a very nice Mama at all.

All of that to say: I would like to do something fun with the kids but they aren't very much fun to be around in the afternoons. They are mean and grouchy, which makes me mean and grouchy (but they start it). We need to find some kind of rhythm before we all start spending each afternoon in perpetual time out. Actually that doesn't sound half bad if it didn't include any yelling or screaming.

In the meantime I am knitting, taking deep breaths, drinking a lot of tea, sneaking huge hunks of dark chocolate out of the freezer, and trying to let my personal fun agenda wait another day. (Which would be fine if they actually went to school.)

Pinka-freakin-licious Part 2

St. Marks United Methodist Thrift Store
Brunswick, Georgia

Clare: Mama! Look, there's that doll you drove to all of those chicken stores to find.

Mama: &(&(*^&%*&^&

Cost: 25 cents

**follow the link and this post will make a lot more sense.

Hoot!

All of the owls in our family (5) came to the picnic.

The menu:

Acorns.
Chestnuts.

Two Treasures.

$2.99 Goodwill.

I'm not sure what it is or where it came from, but I'm going with candle holder extraordinaire. It weighs a ton and makes me smile. The kids think it is funny and Mario, well, he's used to my treasures at this point.

But here's another kind of treasure, the priceless kind extracted from a little girl curled up on the couch with me earlier tonight under a pile of blankets cuddling.

How old are you? 5
What's your favorite food? Macaroni and cheese.
What's your favorite fruit? Frozen strawberries.
Current body temperature: 103.2
Favorite stuffed animal: Goat-y
Favorite date with Daddy: Starbucks and a movie.
Favorite date with Mommy: Going to treasure stores.
Favorite thing to do: Sew.
Favorite candy: Twizzlers.
Do you like winter or summer best? Summer.
What kind of 6th bday party do you want to have? A dance party.
Favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike.
Favorite color: White.
Favorite person: Everyone in my family.
Hot chocolate or chocolate milk? Chocolate milk in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter.
Best friend: Alex.
Favorite thing to do with Wesley: Play.
What do you want to do when you grow up? Be a ballet dancer.
What do you like about the beach? The creek.
Where do you want to go on an airplane? To Buffalo.
What do you not like? Taking medicine and taking my temperature.

Helping.

Scenes like this make me melt.

Gigi's Scarf

Gigi picked out the yarn herself over Christmas and over the Snow Week I finally finished it. It definitely falls into the decorative scarf category rather than the 'let's go build a snowman' pile that continues to build on and around our couch.

My coping mechanism for snow (and poop) = knitting. I want to learn more stitches and to read patterns. Mario and I both agree that knitting is the least messy of all of the crafty things I like to do so it scores high points for both of us. Plus it's portable, a total bonus for me.

We hosted.

We had friends over for lunch to celebrate day FOUR of snow week. We made an amazing chicken/coconut soup, enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches, baked cookies, and talked about yarn. The kids played. And we didn't clean up a single thing before we had to sprint out the door to pick up our other kids from their schools that did end up meeting today.

It was fun to make a mess and to just leave it for later. (Though I do admit that it is later and I'm not terribly motivated right now to take care of it.)

Things are looking up as snow week comes to an end. We survived! It wasn't pretty but the next time there's a call for snow I won't be at the store buying milk and bread, I will be at the library checking out as many books, cd's, and dvd's as possible.

Snow Day 4.

The roads are dry.
Schools are still closed and delayed.
My appointments are cancelled.
Cabin fever is acute.

The beach is calling to us.

Snow Day Infinity.

This is my new mobius scarf! I made it with seven different yarns on size 50 knitting needles (think turkey basters) the other night while waiting on the snow. If I wrap it twice around I have a thick cowl to keep my neck warm and just once it hangs as a colorful scarf around my neck.

The 2011 snow storm = lots of knitting around here. I have another pink and orange themed super scarf on the needles, a green color wave hat on the circulars and I'm almost done with Gigi's speckled grey scarf on my size 17 bamboo needles. Snow and THREE days off of school makes me cling to the repetitive motion and comfort of yarn.

Snow Play.

Our own winter wonderland hosted snow angels, crusty ice layer stomping, snow soccer, and lots of joy.

Main Street tonite.

Cabin fever set in around 5:45 PM so we set out to explore. I love the quiet desertion of Main Street on snow days, the toasty warm car factor, and Mario's winter driving skills.

Snow Day 2011.

Clare: Do we have carrots?
Mama: Yes.
Clare: Good. Are they big ones?
Mama: No.
Clare: Little ones?
Mama: Yes.
Clare: Then we will have to make lots of little snow men. They joy around here is building as the flakes continue to fall. Schools cancelled long before the first flake hit the ground. Mr. Buffalo is at work pretending that he is in Buffalo where plows exist and the world moves on despite snow...but as soon as he returns we'll be outside and playing. We missed the Christmas snow and I'm thrilled that we are here for this today.

Pause.

Ikea.
Thai food.
Talking.
Fabric.
Hot tub.
Chardonnay.
Talking.
Shopping.
Lenox Square.
Anthropologie.
Midtown.
Views.
Swimming pools.
Talking.
Gift exchanging.
Sharing.
Brainstorming.
Pizza.
GPS love.
Late check out.
Storm watching.
Goodbyes.

The view from here.

Life is good today.

Kate = Green

Today I am going to Atlanta for a twirly girly weekend overnight trip. We are meeting up for a whirlwind of fabric stores, Ikea tours, flea markets, thrift shops, martinis, ethnic food, walking, talking, crying, shopping, and celebrating.

When I think of Kate the color green comes to mind so I'm bringing her a method scarf made from seven different skeins of yarn. She's earthy, Irish, ecologically minded, and a red head. She needs this scarf and it's been great fun to knit up thinking of the fun we'll have on our adventure together.

Lately I knit with more intention. I have a recipient in mind and similar to the concept of a prayer shawl, I enjoy spending some of the time I am knitting thinking about that person. In the end it's still a hat or a scarf but it feels like I'm giving a little bit more of myself in between the stitches.

Goodwill Thrill.

Wesley's Super Garage: $4.50
Clare's Wicked Sturdy Crib: $6

Mario's Oh So Soft Oatmeal Cashmere V-Neck Sweater: $5.25

This week I found many many treasures at local thrift shops and am cutting myself off from visiting for awhile. (I'm even contemplating another no-spend-month starting on February 1st to break the ease of the current cycle.) The first week of the year is a ripe week for super finds and now tour de Columbia is over I am going to take a rest and work with the things I did find. Like what?

Wool blankets to transform, vintage findings, linen pieces to sew, sweaters to felt and sew, things to paint, books to look at, gizmos to try, and lots of new outfits to wear. Mostly I had fun and enjoyed the time alone after a long holiday break.

He knew.

He knew I wrote about his personal bowel habits here.

To prove it this afternoon, Wesley:

1. Pooped in his pants.
2. Locked the door to the bathroom.**
3. Waddled out to me with a wad o poop sniffling.
**To the only bathroom in our house with wipes, clean underwear, and a screwdriver to remove the door knob.

Let's just say that he was not at all happy about the paper towels, freeballing, or losing his Wiggles underwear. When Mario got home he found a screwdriver in his car so he removed the doorknob and life returned to normal, well, after the stinky child had a proper bath.

If only...

1. Wesley could learn to pump.
2. Wesley would potty train.

I think I could retire from this motherhood thing and earn at least a partial pension. Maybe not the whole thing because I haven't done some of the other stuff like first periods, driving, training wheels, or a real slumber party. But I know I will definitely get something after I do poop and pumping.

(ps: happy birthday holly!)

Yarn Buzz.

Sari ribbon, green wool, tan alpaca and creamy soft white yarn. Gigi treated me to some grown up yarn from The Stitchery on St. Simons Island.

I am not at all sure what I will make but I am delighted to have some new colors and sparkle in my yarn stash for the new year. Staring and planning is half of the fun anyhow.

(ps: happy birthday tracy!)

Decorating.

Oh the treasures we found in the ornament boxes. To keep things simple we just unpacked last years ornaments and put those on the tree. My favorite part: the clusters of ornaments at Wesley's level around the middle of the tree.

Wheeee!

Poppa Great loves bungee cords.
Gigi loves bungee cords.
Mommy loves bungee cords.
Wesley and Clare love bungee cords.

Happy New Year.

Wishing you a HAPPY, HEALTHY,
PEACEFUL

2011.