that nest is *so* last year.

that whole lemons/life thing.

All I did was go to the fabric store to get elastic thread (yes! it's an actual thing!) and also to pick up some fabric to make her a supercool springy skirt in the sort of colors that make me think of her, and you know, get some snaps and new sewing machine needles because apparently you should replace them more frequently than they break (I know! Who knew!).

Upon my return, I have discovered that my mouse and keyboard and general computer area are covered with a thick coating of lemonade.

I ask you, what does one do when life hands you lemonade instead of lemons?

I think you know what to do.

elliott's birthday: the cake post

spice cake

mascarpone-buttermilk frosting

blackberry jam

the birthday boy

a nom-nom here

admiring mama's mad baking skillz

seriously.

that's some fabulous texture right there.

what?

no smashing?

more no smashing

from a different angle

oh well, maybe next year.

one whole year

One year ago today, I woke up at 5:10 a.m. My abdomen hurt. My pelvis ached. I thought to myself, I wonder if I should call my midwife. I have been having contractions regularly for three days straight. Nah, I'm not due for another two weeks, and that doesn't even take into consideration that the other three were about two weeks late. Besides, if I call her at this hour of the day and complain because my vagina hurts? I'll probably get smacked at my next appointment.

So I didn't call. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom just like every other pregnant lady, and went back to bed. I laid there for a while, aching, feeling a little bit off, and as much as I was able, I tossed and turned.

At 5:30 a.m., I got back out of bed and went to the bathroom. Again. And oddly enough, the toilet was INCREDIBLY COMFORTABLE. So I sat there until it stopped being comfy, at which point I stood up, and leaned on the sink. It felt nice (nicer) to sway back and forth, so I did that for a while.

I was jarred from my swaying stupor by an odd noise. I stopped, listened. What was that? I became irritated. Who was making that ridiculous mooing noise? Somebody was awake and being loud and God help them I was not in the mood.

Get it? MOOD? I slay me.

The moo-er was me. I was mooing. Why was I mooing? Right! I was having a baby. In my bathroom. This, my friends, was not expected. Well, naturally I *expected* to have a baby, sometime, someplace else, not RIGHT THEN and not IN MY BATHROOM.

I woke The Mister. I called the midwife. I called my MIL. The Mister woke up, the midwife didn't, the MIL ran up the street. Seven minutes after arriving at the hospital, and without a single contraction, wee Elliott emerged with two fantastic pushes. The ER doc standing at the end of the bed told me to wait, so I horrified him by cranking out my babe and a horde of gypsy 'roids.

And now he's one.

He laughs.

He pats his head when he wants his blanket.

He loves to be held close.

Loves the sling.

He is a complete mama's boy, but loves his daddy like crazy.

His sister is his very best friend

in the entire world

*and*

he will not go to bed at night

*until*

he has been held one more time by her.

He has the oddest crawl of any child I've ever seen.

He cruises the furniture.

He applauds himself.

He is chill and happy and healthy,

and sure I'm biased,

but he's the most adorable creature

on the face of this earth.

And now he's one.

baring it all

Whilst whittling away at my blog reading, I headed over to Lora's Fiery Palace. And darned if I wasn't completely fascinated by her post about handwriting. I love looking at handwriting. I love my handwriting. Except when my hands are hurting, then it is very sloppy and then I don't love it. My hands hurt quite a lot, so it's very handy, this whole Getting To Type Pretty Much All My Correspondence Thing.

Here are the rules for the handwriting game.

The Rules:
write the following
1) Your name/blog name.
2) Right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous?
3) Favorite letters to write.
4) Least favorite letters to write.
5) Write “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
6) Write the following words in capital letters:
- CRAB
- HUMOR
- KALEIDOSCOPE
- PAJAMAS
- GAZILLION
7) Write your favorite song lyric.
8) Tag people!
9) Any special note or picture.





Mine was written on a regular sized sheet of paper, folded in half, so on a quarter sheet of paper, in case you are wondering how actually large I write.

And hello, there, run-on sentence. How are you today?

Hope you love The Aquabats. They are the rockingest.

a tiny little update

Remember back a few months ago, when the year changed its number from 2009 to 2010? Think hard, I know some of you might have been a little bit tipsy, and the exact moment may be super fuzzy in your heads.

I posted a somewhat snarky view of New Year's Resolutions.

I'm guessing you don't remember that, either, hmmmm???

Anyway, here's my quarterly update on the State of Things.

Goal #1: I will strive to not forget the wet laundry in the washing machine.

I'm quite pleased to say that I have only forgotten, and needed to re-wash, two loads of laundry since the first of the year. That is a huge improvement, and saves a ton of money, especially considering the price of water has more than doubled.

Verdict: YAY, ME!!!

Goal #2: I will strive to use my indoor voice unless it is absosmurfly necessary that I use the Bad Dog Voice.

I think I've been showing improvement in this area, mostly because I'm keeping the short people busier, and away from things with screens and moving pictures, and being more proactive with the behavior situations.

Except for this very minute, as I am typing this, because Wee Man and HB are having a MOVIE REST which involves them getting off the couch every point zero five seconds to practice their Wooshy-Finger-Holds (skah-DOOOOOSH!). MOVIE REST = FAIL.

Verdict: no verdict. The jury is still out on this one.

Goal #3: I will eat more popcorn.

I can't actually admit to you the amount of popcorn we have consumed in the past nearly-three months. I just can't out myself like that. But it is a healthy, whole-grain snack, and that is all I have to say about that. It has to be super good for me, as I've lost over 10 pounds since January, and the number of pounds of popcorn that has been consumed here is well over twice the amount I've lost.

Popcorn, it's the new diet plan.

Verdict: YAY, ME!!!!! And also? YAY, ME!!!

wordless wednesday: just lovely