WE HAVE TO CLOTHE THEM TOO?? SHEESH.

I don’t understand it.

It seems like I buy the kids clothes all the time. But Jocelyn has nothing to wear.

Last Friday, I thought it was because it was all dirty. But this weekend we’ve managed to cycle all but one load (and it’s whites, towels and dish/washclothes and things, not many clothes) through, and it’s all piled up on our bed. And tuesday morning? I rumaged through it, and found – NOTHING! The girl only has like, 3 shirts! I had to put Ethan’s sweater on her! It was the sweater I made him wear for school picture day, and he hates it. He saw me putting it on her, and instantly said, “She can wear my sweater mommy! It’s OK by me!” No kidding, sherlock.

Also.. at the end of the summer, I bought Jocelyn a few pairs of pants. 2T. Which are now (only 3 months later) way too small. They don’t really want to button around her big baby-tummy (babies have the cutest huge tummies. Jocelyn has still got hers. We used to call them frog-tummies), and she’s showing off her ankles to the cold elements, because they’re too short.

When she was a baby, I tried to cycle in some of Ethan’s too-small clothes into her wardrobe, but I soon stopped doing that, because not only is she NOT a boy, but she really does like *shudder* pink and girly things (i don’t mind the girly. just the pink). I do it with the non-gender things though, like jeans.

However, when James puts the laundry away (NOT THAT I AM COMPLAINING!) he sometimes looks at something and still assumes it’s Ethan’s without looking at the size tag.

And then we have this:

It’s hard to tell how SHORT these are on him, so we tried a few different poses:

I should have gotten a shot of him in the car, sitting in his carseat, which made them rise up to his shins.

ENOUGH ABOUT THEM. NOW ME.

So, along with my stinky tarty school marm shoes, I got some new pants a week or so ago. I took a look at my closet and realized that it was mostly skirts, and I need some more pants to through into the mix. I like flirty skirts, but not EVERY day. So I got me 3 pairs of nice pants, and since I have my tarty school marm shoes with the high heels, I got them long. They’d be too long with normal shoes, but with the shoes, they’re just about 1-1 1/2 inches from the ground. They are very swishy and make me feel oh so grown up. Which is important when you need to convince other people that you are grown up and don’t fantasize about doing cartwheels down the hallway at work. Oh no, not ME. I’m grown up! See? I have the pants to prove it! Too bad I shoot it all to hell coming in on casual Friday with jeans, flip-flops and a Seattle Opera t-shirt.

So, anyway. One pair in particular have a very wide leg, and are possibly a smidge TOO long. Because of this, I think of that movie, “House of Flying Daggers” where in the fan dance (at least in the commercials, i haven’t seen it) the girl has to like, toss her huge long kimono sleeve out away from her body like a yo-yo. and then pull it back in to her body to do it again and again and again.

Those are my pants. Yo-yo flying dagger pants. One step, out they go! SWISH! Other leg comes forward, it’s their turn! SWISH! yeah, you don’t want to be in my head when I’m wearing these pants. It’s like I’m a gay man with all that SWISHING.

I just had a discussion with james on whether it is normal to give as many little names to objects and people as I do. Can you say stinky tarty school marm shoes? Can you say yo-yo flying dagger pants?

He said, No. Not normal. You are a freak.

I said, I don’t care… Borg-boy.

INTERNET, I HATE-LOVE YOU. IF YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN I’LL KILL YOU! DON’T EVER LEAVE ME AGAIN OR I WILL DIE!

Our internet was out all day today, and some of last night too. The first part of this post was actually meant to be posted last night. But no inkernet. Sniff. Since all our mail and websites and domains and databases and file servers and kitchen sinks and kittens and puppies are hosted right on computers in our basement (heretoforE known as “james’ borg collective”), if our basement has no internet connection, well, not only can we not look at stuff on the internet, well, no one can look at us! or email us! or wash their hands in our kitchen sink! or pet a kitty or puppy! ok, not those last things, but you get the general frustrating idea.

so our interweb connection is back up now, and thank god, because all the bits and bobs coming through the series of tubes was sorely missed!

POLITICS:

Um. Frak.

Never mind.. I changed my mind. Maybe tomorrow.

THE END.

-amy breathes a sigh of relief ahhhhhhhhhhhh interweb sooooo goooooooood

And I need to pluck my eyebrows!

I was thinking about participating in NaBloPoMo. National Blog Posting Month, where you try to post something every day. I’m all for it, but was a little bit uncertain about my ability to do it. I thought, well, I will try to do it, and we’ll see how it goes, but I’m not going to make myself a slave or anything. As you can see this weekend, I didn’t post, so there goes that. Oh well.

I got my sewing machine back this weekend, and I’m excited to start some projects and finish up some others. The problem is, I have to pretty much work on the kitchen table, which of course, we need to eat at. when I was doing Jocelyn’s costume, we ate in the living room in front of the TV a few times, which is never a good precedent to set. So I was thinking about this problem, and suggested to James that maybe I could move my computer (which is in our guest room) downstairs to a corner of his office, which would free up the table which I could then move downstairs and use as a work table. He laughed. His office is a mess. I laughed too. Then we packed up the kids and went to Ikea to get another table. Ethan was very excited. He loves Ikea. When we were on vacation at the beach in CT, one morning I asked him what he thought we should do that day, and he said “LET’S GO TO IKEA!!!” So we went. Balls were played in. Pictures colored. Little play houses played in. Items obtained in the warehouse. I’m a big dumb, however. I got little storage shelvey thingees to use to support either side of the table top instead of legs… but I forget to get 2 of them. So I’ll have to go back and get another one. Ethan will be so happy.
Jocelyn amazing me sometimes. OK, all the time. but this was one time specifically.

It was a weekend morning in the past week or so, and I was downstairs with the kids while James showered and got ready upstairs. I was doing something on my computer. Ethan and Jocelyn were playing by themselves remarkably well, Ethan engrossed in some construction project, and Jocelyn busy “going to work! see you next week!” with her dolly and her stroller. Soon Jocelyn started checking in with me, requiring my input.

“Look at dolly, mommy! She’s wearing a cowgirl hat!”

“She sure is, what a great cow-girl!”

Attention back to computer. This went on for a few minutes, and then Jocelyn started playing with a train. You push down a certain part of it, and then it will zoom forward. She was enthralled and wanted me to be enthralled too.

“Come see Thomas, mommy!” (all trains are thomas to her)

“Maybe in a minute honey, I’m trying to do some work.”

She kept playing for a minute or two, and then I looked up to see her standing quietly at the side of the couch looking at me.

“Can you not work now mommy?” she said. And then I died from the cuteness. She said it so politely, and so ernestly. She wanted me to stop working and come play with her.

“I sure can, sweetie.” I closed the computer and went to see just what this Thomas train could do.

This is why I’m glad I didn’t do any committing to NaBloPoMo.

I sure can go and play.

I have a feeling that this new banner isn’t going to last long, as I will probably not like it in the morning. But anyway, new banner.

CINDERELLY

Cinderella has become the latest favorite movie in our house. Yes, even Ethan. He LOVES the mice. He watches Gus trying to pick up ALL those pieces of corn while the cat is stalking him and he laughs his ASS off. We need to record some good old Tom & Jerry for that boy because he will eat it up.

HALLOWEEN

More on the making of Jocelyn’s costume (can you tell I’m very proud of my accomplishments?). We had bought her a costume which had a white hat and a cow-spotted vest and little fringey wrist thingees. “Eh,” I thought at the time, but there you go. Later we found her a pink cowboy hat, which she’s been wearing everywhere, and so when I was in the fabric store and saw a little pamphlet on making a fringed bag with fleece, the lightbulb went on.

I bought some pink fleece, and then I got a little jean jacket for her on sale at Target and took an old pair of her pants (sized 24 months, it’s amazing they even fit her, seeing as how everything she wears is 3T at this point), and sewed on some hot pink fringe. Ethan kept trying to convince me to cut the fringe off. He was sure I just didn’t know what he was talking about, because obviously, once I understood, I would jump at the chance, so he got paper and scissors, cut some paper fringe, and then made me watch as he snipped off all the fringe to make confetti. “See mommy?! Come on! Let’s do it!”

Even though Ethan’s design point of view was thwarted, I am pretty proud of her outfit. I had to hand sew most of the fringe onto the bottom of her jeans, as the pantleg was too narrow to fit around the bottom of the machine, and my machine was on the fritz to begin with (couldn’t get the tension correct) and by the time I had to resort to hand sewing, it was waiting by the door to go get repaired. She was definitely the belle of the ball last night:

Fashion fashion fashion! (IE: new cheap shoes)

I have a new pair of shoes that I got for 20 bucks at target. I call them my tarty school marm shoes.

Because they have that klunky blocky (that is so popular this decade*) librarian school marm look paired with a 3 inch heel. This is very high for me. VERY HIGH. In fact, I wore them around my office for a day (w/out wearing them outside) because I was positive I would have to take them back because my feet would die from them being too high. I can manage a 2″ or even a 2 1/2″ heel, but these suckers are HIGH (again, high for ME). I am amazed that I can totally wear them. Even in Costco (lots of walking around). Wow! ME! Tarty! Who knew??
*and yet you’d never see one on Sex and the City and Stacey London always wants to set them on fire. Perhaps I should rethink my choices….. NAH.

So I quite like my new shoes. Which is nice, because remember when I lost my wallet at TJ Maxx? Looking at shoes? Dreaming of shoes? Spent the next month WANTING CUTE SHOES? Well, I went back (a month and a half later) because those nice shoes kept swimming around in my head and I WANTED THEM DAMMIT and they had NO cute shoes. I was heart broken. So when I found cute 20 dollar shoes, I found some solace. However, they ARE cheap.. which means…. Stinky feet. Cheap shoes means manmade plasticy materials that make my feet sweat instead of breathing, and sweat = STINK. My tarty school marm shoes are very stinky. That’s the only downside to cheap shoes. That, and they fall apart in a year. I have a pair of heeled sandals that my mother bought me at Nordstrom that I’ve had for .. oh gosh, I’m old, probably 13 years that only JUST gave up the ghost this past summer (and I’m not yet giving up that they’re not really ok, just a flesh wound, they’re going for a walk, in just a moment.. they feel HAPPEEEEEE….. ahem).

So. Stinky, tarty, school marm shoes. I like em:

Let me say for the record, that only his daughter could get him to do this. It was nothing *I* said, trust me. That girl has got her daddy wrapped around her finger. JUST AS SHE SHOULD. So of course, I dived for the camera.
SADNESS

I wasn’t going to post anything about this, but most of our friends read this (or have spouses that do), and I think people would like to hear.. James had to say goodbye to his dog last Saturday. He and his sister Sandi adopted Cydney, a sweet black lab, when they were in college at VA Tech. She was probably about 11-12 years old. I call her our time share dog, because sometimes we have her, and sometimes Sandi has her. It’s a very convenient arrangement when vacations roll around. Erm. It was. 🙁 She broke her UC ligament a few months ago and has gone downhill snce then. We hadn’t seen her since before the accident, but James went and picked her up last Wednesday. We were a little shocked to see the condition she was in. Unable to walk easily, shivering, sores all over her body from her licking and worrying away at herself. She was not a happy dog. Friday when James came home, she had thrown up a few times. He called Sandi, and Saturday morning, they all met at the vet’s office and said goodbye. It was for the best. But it was a sad day.

We miss you, Cydney.

– amy

First off, I had a whole thing going where I was taking photos all through the creating part of jocelyn’s costume. then my sewing machine broke and that went to hell. But here’s a few:

But enough of that. Let’s get to the actual Halloween photos themselves:

And now. I’m going to bed. the sugar high has crashed and I am falling over asleep. G’nite.

– amy dreams of Almond Joy. And of having a pair of those cowgirl pants for herself.

The boy plays hard:

the girl is dainty

they’re very cute

You know, it just figures. I hauled my camera around with me all last week, and didn’t really use it. And then I REALLY WISH I had it last night on my way home. The moon was a beautiful sliver hanging in the velvety violet sky, which grew purple and then dark orange closer to the horizon. Fluffy clouds spotted the night, the sort that you wish you could just fly up and ride around on. Jocelyn kept saying, “THE MOOOOOOON! THE MOOOOOOON!” (which I first thought was, “I’M HOME!” but quickly caught on to) I tried to take a picture with my camera phone, but it really sucked big time. I wish I had not only my camera, but a tripod.

And then I wish I had it with me again, because last night, I finished my crochet hat, and I’m wearing it today. I took a crappy camera phone picture, but it really is crappy.

So what do you do with crappy photos? Why, photoshop and filter the hell out of them of course! Now instead of just crappy, it will look crappy, AND ARTY!

So here you go:

Why do I always get the deformed M&Ms?