homeofthebudds

Days to remember when everyone's grown and gone.

It's been a sorta snowy day. We had at least an eighth of an inch this morning.

And then another eighth this afternoon. This is the only snow we've had all year.

We've been huddling up in the house.

Which honestly, is not unique to sorta snowy days.

I'm sitting upstairs with Isaiah. He's drawing cars. I'm ripping stitches. A lot of stitches.

(Note to self: don't buy invisible thread.)

We're listening to the music coming from downstairs while Ellen and Brennan ride their plasma cars around the basement.

"Six and eight went on a da-a-te! They came back with Forty- eeeeiight!" sung to "You need someone older and wiser" from Sound of Music.

Today

Today when I woke up at 3:00am and couldn't fall back asleep I got up and sewed. I made a fabric box. It's not quite perfect yet, but the next one will be.

Today I went to Imago's DIY and picked up a couple of new ideas I want to try...now for the supplies for them. :)

Today we signed Ellen up for cheerleading. The original plan was a basketball team, but when she saw cheerleading was an option, she was sold. She gets to start cheering for the basketball games in January.

Today Isaiah accompanied Ellen to choir practice and thought maybe he would like to give that a try after all.

Today we went to a birthday party where the kids got to ride horses and Ellen and Isaiah both declared it the best thing in the world. There were three horses, ranging in size (from Shetland pony to a quarterhorse I think) and Ellen rode all three. She was even trotting on the big one. Isaiah stuck to the smaller two, and had a serious grin every time. Brennan had no interest at all. Until we were just about to leave and we offered him one last oppurtunity and he said 'Okay'. But, alas, once we were actually close to the Shetland Pony, we lost his nerve and opted out (which looked a lot like a small child frantically clinging to my neck, silently begging me not to make him approach the terrifying horse).

Today we did not purchase a dishwasher or refrigerator.

There's always tomorrow.

The haps

Dude.

This place is going downhill fast. Refrigerator is toast. Dishwasher is rebelling again. One computer was refusing to operate, our Dr doesn't seem to enjoy using labs that our insurance company wants to pay for, Dave's most expensive suit has a random hole (wth??)  and I haven't finished (barely started actually) tonight's book club book. The whining will now stop. Oh wait, the house is a disaster.

On a good note I fixed the computer, and the house is a disaster because I spent a good part of yesterday sewing.  We just received a letter stating that our dishwasher is included in a recall for a separate issue and we can receive a bit of rebate if we buy a new one. I found paper plates in the cupboard. (shh. don't tell.) And there's one more day of open enrollment so we might just be able to switch our insurance to go back to our original dr whose office enjoys proper billing procedures. Things are looking up.

the haps

*I've managed to get off the couch a few times in the last few days. I even made dinner last night. Granted it was baked potatoes and steamed vegetables, but still. It sooo counted.

 

*I'm starting to care again if the dishes are done and the laundry is clean. This is a good thing.

 

*I don't wanna jinx anything, but I have been digging school the last few weeks. I like the things we're doing and the routine we've settled into.

 

*I thinking about taking up knitting again. It's easy to do from the couch. Actually, more than just thinking I actually went out and bought circular needles this afternoon. I want to make hats that close up properly. And someday I'd like to make some sweaters - but I think that's a ways off.

 

* I'm trying to figure out a way to get the sewing maching to the couch. That would be sweet. 

 

*Basketball season is starting back up and we're back to listening to Blazer games on the radio during dinner and Dave is filling his calendar with the games he's going to go to. He's also gotten himself a library card (for the first time since college if I remember correctly) and has been checking out more movies and music than we can keep up with. He looooves to watch animal documentaries and we've been listening to a lot of different things. We started off with mostly cello music (which we both love. Why hello, new appreciation for Yo-yo Ma.)

 

*Ellen's started reading Harry Potter... she's on number 4 right now. I sorta forgot about all the great language and things they do in there - but I'm sticking with the whole good vs. evil themes and calling it appropriate reading for a 7 year old. I'm trying to come up with a good series to give her when she's done with this one. She wants to learn to cook and is continually asking if I'll teach her to bake. Too bad she wasn't interested about three months ago when I was actually cooking. At least now she knows how to bake potatos.

 

*Isaiah's been playing with Lego's non stop lately. He is all about Lego's, computer games & board games these days. We went to a friends house where Dave played Risk and Isaiah is constantly asking if he can play Risk now. I, like a sane mother, tell him heck no. That game is horrible. Wait for your father to come home, he'll teach you. 

 

*Brennan is unbelievably adorable lately. He spends a lot of time playing Lego's, driving matchbox cars around, digging in the dirt and saying things like "Ooops! Sorry guys. Isaiah threw this rock in the house. I'll go take it outside." while Dave and I look at each other and wonder where he got his politeness from. He's even started talking to people out of our house! At our co-op he even raises his hand to answer (or perhaps ask) questions. This is a big deal. He, of course, doesn't talk to everyone he meets - but if he recognizes you, chances are he won't just look away like's he done for the last three years.

 

And those, my friends, are the haps. What's new with you?

The haps

*Man. It's been a while. 19 days. Oops.

*This summer has been nuts. In that "I have no idea what we've done, but we've had no real down time" kind of way.

*We went berry picking exactly one time this summer.

*We went camping for a week at Hume Lake down in California. Isaiah caught his first fish. Ellen got comfortable in the water (which is not a frequent occurrence). We got to hang out with extended family and float on the lake.

* I just got back from driving with Emily, her three kids & the dog to Utah where they live know. Just before my flight back there was a huge, huge wind storm. I was surprised a few times that the house we were in wasn't moving at all. Luckily it blew out about an hour before my flight. 

*Brennan is out of diapers. As of yesterday afternoon. We started after lunch and by dinner he was all set. I love that "Toilet training in less than a day" book/method. Except for I may have gone overboard on the whole reward thing - cause by that night I was so sick from Brennan's 'Mike and Ike' treats. (Hey. I need rewards too.) He wasn't feeling that great either. 

*Our co-op starts back up in about two weeks. This is the get-it-all-ready-before-registration-day week.

*I've taken a few pictures - but not very many - but haven't put any of them on the computer in at least a month. I should get on that.

*The kids have rediscovered the mega blocks and having been spending happy hours building little cities.

*I've decided it's time I start cooking meals again. I have four books checked out from the library - so far all I've done is read them. And attempted to copy an illustration from a slow-cooker book. Actually that's not true - I made two recipes from one (just not dinner) and this morning we had "Pop-up Pancakes"...sorta like pancakes in a muffin shape. The kids loved them and asked if we could have them everyday. 

*I'm rather excited to have practically zero plans this week. Except for a meeting tonight, we are free until Saturday. Maybe it's finally time to join the local pool.

This week

*This week the kids have been kinda sick. Like coughy, runny nose-y, fever-y kind of sick. We've kinda taken it off from school work. Or at least book work.

*This week we went to the library twice. (How can one not have fresh books and movies when all there is to do is lay around quietly?)

*This week we stumbled into one of the most amazing library storytimes I've ever witnessed. There were seats for the adults. (What? I don't have to prop myself up against the pillar while balancing kids on each knee? Huh. That's kinda nice.) There was carpet for the children. There was roll playing. There were props. There were costumes. There were two librarians involved. There was a guitar. There were puppets. There was a craft to take home and a craft to do at the library. There was a movie. There were multiple copies of the books featured on the back table to minimize the fighting over books. There were handouts for parents. Printed in color. COLOR I tell you. That's how you know a group has money. When they print things in color. Is that still as expensive as I remember it being?

The only thing there was not was the reading of a book. Books were featured, a picture or two was shared, but no words were read. Instead they were acted or shown on the screen.

*This week I pondered storytimes and how I feel about no books being read during such times. I thought about how silly it is to confine the idea of story to something as flimsy as bound paper. And I thought about how it's so odd to be in a library and do everything but read. I thought about how interactive and exciting the role playing and puppetry was. I thought about how the movie was the one bit that really turned me off and got me thinking about the whole hour in the first place. 

*This week I had an incredibly busy weekend. It was one of those heavily scheduled weekends where right when one things stops another begins. It was full of the sort of life that most working folks lead all the time. I am not most working folk. It was rather thrilling while it lasted, and it was rather thrilling when it ended as well.

*This week I had a super fun shoot with a fun family and a great park.

*This week my hard drive crashed. Hard.

*This week I was super glad I always back up pictures from shoots in three places.

*This week, after reading for several days online how to attempt to fix my hard drive, I powered it back up to reinstall the OS and hope for the best and lo and behold, it was resurrected. Completely healed.

*This week I've been backing up other pictures and things I was rather irritated about when I thought I might have lost them.

*This week I thought about stealing a book from the library. Or perhaps permanently borrowing it. Or perhaps pretending to lose it. More on that tomorrow.

the haps

*We've started becoming regular library visitors. So regular, in fact, the kids know the librarians names. And the librarians are starting to learn ours. So regular, in fact, that although we got our limit of 50 books on Tuesday, Ellen complained tonight of a lack of books in the house. She'd already read everything she brought home. Never fear, we're going back tomorrow.

*Ellen's discovered the Junie B Jones series - which I thoroughly enjoy for two reasons.  (1) Of the two I've read so far, they don't introduce bad ideas. Like calling your brothers names and fighting with your friends. (2) Since the character and Ellen are the same age, when I read them I feel like I'm getting a little sneak peak into what is going through my girly's head. Which, I must say is mighty helpful.

*She's also been devouring the Magic Tree House series. Those are pretty fun.

*I was reading the boys a Winnie-the-Pooh story tonight. Brennan was appropriately scandalized that Pooh was named Pooh. First he was shocked and then he laughed hysterically every time he heard it.

*Isaiah's really into sciency stuff lately. They watched a movie (from the library of course) about how storms and weather happen and he was sooo into it. He immediately watched it again. He's also intrigued by "How Things Work" types of books. This could get fun as he gets older.

*Tomorrow we're going to a homeschoolers group (at the library of course) that meets every other week. For the next three months they're making musical instruments from different countries. That should be fun. We've never been able to go to this group before cause it's scheduled smack dab in the middle of afternoon nap time, but now that Brennan has dropped his last nap -- all kinds of fun awaits us.

*I want to make things out of my fine art prints...like journals and magnets and little blank books. I think that'd be fun.

*Dave's been going to a mentoring class at church. He's digging it. He's doing really well at work. He's trying to decide if he's digging that too.

*I also have all these little groups that I want to start floating around in my head. A book group. A crafty group. A soccer group (I don't feel like paying to have my kids on a soccer team. Can't we all just meet up at the park saturday morning, bring a ball, set up some cones and teach them how to play?) There's a couple more groups ideas floating around, but I'm wearing myself out thinking about them all.

*The idea of a mini-triathlon is beginning to sound interesting again. Hmmmmm...

What's going on in your house?

Confessions

My name is Sarah and I'm addicted. To the internet. Pretty much a lot.

I follow 165 blogs. And by follow I mean read every word. They're like my daily newspaper.

I'm on twitter. I have three email accounts, each with a different purpose and therefore different contacts. Actually I have five, but two are spam catchers.

I'm on facebook. I think in status updates as I'm sure most other facebook users do. I play bejeweled. A lot. 

I read everything I can get my hands on concerning photography. And I watch all the movies I can about it. And read everyone's blog and tutorials.

It's not so very much, perhaps. (or maybe it is) But I have this pattern of checking email, reading, updating facebook, reading twitter, reading blogs, checking email, checking facebook, playing bejeweled while keeping another email window open, checking twitter, checking email, bleh.

I was thinking that's a lame way to spend the day. There are so many other things I'd rather do. I made myself a list of all the things I'd rather do than waste my time doing nothing online. Wanna see?

*sew

*can (figure out how to can and preserve things)

*garden

*draw

*write

*figure out more raw foods

*paint

*craft

*take pictures

*read

*talk

*camp

*knit

*crochet

*clean

*volunteer

*learn to play guitar

*learn to play piano

I could go on for a while.

So. I entertained the idea of canceling our internet connection. Kinda drastic. But you know where my self control lives? At the store. It is not in our house. I have no problem not buying something, but if that something stares at me all day long in my house my self control goes for a walk. A long, rambling, never to return sort of walk.

So it seems like it'd be easiest for me to just unplug it all. I checked and some of our local libraries offer free wi-fi. We go to the library a lot. A LOT. The kids could easily entertain themselves for an hour while I catch up on email and put up a couple blog posts.

But Dave's not such a fan of a complete disconnect.

So for now, my self control and I are becoming very good friends. I've given myself some rules to work with. I only use the computer standing up. It really decreases browsing time. I don't update my facebook status. Well periodically. Like once a day - or every other day. I'm only reading the blogs of people I'm really really really interested in. Other than that I stay off the internet. I'm hoping to eventually ween myself down further.

This does not mean I won't eventually blog or update or communicate. I plan to make good use of the pre-scheduled posting feature in Typepad. And someday I may not respond to your email two minutes after you sent it. But I have a feeling that's gonna be okay.

It's kinda funny how much more we're doing already. I've been drawing a ton. The laundry's done. The bathroom's clean. Mostly. There's food in the dehydrator. Tons of thoroughly read books have been returned to the library and new ones checked out, read and returned.

I like it.

oops

I was on the blog looking for a picture of the crib to put up on craiglist (cause Brennan has become one of the big kids sleeping without walls) and realized it's been a very very long time since i've posted anything.

oops.

I haven't taken any pictures since that last post. Holy moly. I've been knitting and watching old Magnum PI reruns. I've been feeling too crowded and looking for stuff to craigslist. I've been playing go fish and bejeweled and connect four and knitting some more. I've been researching christmas presents.

The kids have been knitting too. and playing games and watching movies and playing with friends and being on vacation. Dave is off until the new year and we are catching up on that whole cozy low-key life we forgot we liked so much. There's been lots of sleeping in and hanging with friends and just being.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Once I finish some more knitting, visit the post office for the last time and finish some photo editing I promise to pick that camera back up and let you catch up with the kids.

So that's what I've been up to. How've you been?

The haps.

*I've become rather sporadic over here. Sorry about that. But I am showing up everyday over at the photography blog. Today plastic snowflakes, pumpkin flowers and Emily Dickinson were all present. The kids don't show up though. But it's still a fun blog! At least I think so. Let me know if you want a link - I really do blog daily there.

*Photography stuff is going well. I'm learning all kinds of things, I have shoots lined up, I have a website up and going...I've always had in my head I was going to take this into a career (not just a hobby) but this week it was all vocalized and the plans are coming together. It's interesting to find a balance with where my time gets invested. We're still very much homeschooling and I have no plans to quit that. That, plus photography, plus house stuff gets to be a little much some days. So usually house stuff goes out the window and the floor stays a little dirty, we wear the same jeans over again and eat some Papa Murphy's. That's one of my biggest frustrations - I haven't done much raw at all since it got cold and I got distracted by shiny cameras. Soon it will all balance out. I hope.

*The kids and I and our friend Lynette made terrariums today. Pictures are coming.

*This has been a big coupla weeks around here with DIY, and Help-Portrait and some shoots and a few other projects I can't quite talk about yet (seriously. isn't that weird?). Usually by now I have Christmas present plans in full effect and they might even be ready to ship. It hasn't happened that way this year. Sorry, family. We really do love you, promise. Even if our gift to you this year isn't the most creative. We really do.

*Last week Dave had the entire week off and we roadtripped it to San Jose. (Did I mention that already? Or was that facebook?) It was great fun. Everyone had a good time - walking the dog (Ellen), playing wii (Isaiah), avoiding the dog (Brennan), among tons of other goodness. Ohh I totally mentioned that cause I know I put up a Big Trees post. Right. Apparently I'm tired.

*Ellen's been doing fun school stuff lately - learning about nouns and proper nouns and she even had her first spelling test. Is that weird I think that's fun? She made up her very own board game which will probably have its own post coming soon. Isaiah's been booking through his workbooks. He sits down and just goes for it and will spend a couple hours coloring and counting and writing and drawing. He loves them. He's a pretty great reader too. They're pretty impressive students.

*Brennan has really taken to caring for his babies. He gets all the dolls out, puts them to bed (in Isaiah's bed - always), reads them stories, helps them brush their teeth, puts them in trouble chair when they make bad choices, changes their diapers and clothes...He's a really caring little guy. And he's loooving to sing. It's funny to hear him sing the lyrics for random songs he's heard that I had no idea he knew. I can't think of which songs they are right now (I'm tired, remember?) but when I do, I'll let you know. Really what I should do is get a video. That'd be smart. Alright, I'm on it.

*Alright. It's off to Lightroom for some photo editing and to sleep I go. Talk to you later.