"Rachael Ray doesn't have a penis," and other sentences I never expected to come out of my mouth

Stinky knows the names of his body parts- really well. He's very good at naming them, and sometimes he likes to name other people's body parts. Yesterday, before dinner, we were snuggled on the sofa watching Rachael Ray. He pointed to his privates, and said "Penis!"

This is nothing new. "Yep. That's where it is. Oooh, look, spaghetti, sweetie."

He pointed to the screen "Penis."

"No, Rachael Ray is a girl, and girls don't have penises."

Then, he yelled '"PENIS!" as loud as he could. I'm so glad we had the door open to get the air moving. The neighbors must have really enjoyed sharing this moment with us. Yes, Mom, this is totally karma for when Bubba and I would play the penis game, which is remarkably similar- finding a public place (preferably with our mother) to say 'penis' over and over again and trying not to be the first one to laugh. I know I have this coming to me. Back to yesterday.

"Nope, girls don't have penises, only boys. Stinky and Daddy have one, but Mommy, and Rachael Ray, we sure don't. Because we're girls, and girls don't have penises." He eyed me suspiciously, then decided I speak the truth. Whispering "penis," he rests his head back down on my shoulder.

It's funny, but most of the things I never expected to say to a child - or ever, really - have that word in them. Like "Don't touch your penis with your binky or I'll take your binky away," or "You think your penis is a snake, do you? That's pretty ambitious, buddy, but hey, shoot for the moon, right?"

I Made It Monday: Family Pillow

This is a piece that I am really proud of. It sits on my bed, and makes me smile whenever I see it. I made this when I wanted to celebrate my family, just as were were. Stinky loves to put his hand up against the little green one, and it's crazy to see how he's grown.

Well, Good Morning!

What's that you say? It's not morning anymore? You'd never have guessed that by looking at me an hour ago. See, Stinky had a rough night. I'm pretty sure he has allergies and whenever he'd wake up coughing from the junk running down his throat, he'd scream hysterically for me. We had to give inhalers, which was really, really cool. He totally loved putting the scary mask on his face and being held down by WBH. Totally. After the inhalers, he begged us in his sad, hysterical, sobbing voice "Big Bird... dinosaurs! Big Bird!" Which only made us laugh. He snuggled up to me, and we ordered Sesame Street On Demand (thank heavens for this in emergencies!), and he finally fell asleep on my chest. (I loved that part). We woke up late this morning snuggled up next to eachother, surrounded by fruit snacks, another desperate request from the allergy king.

He woke up rather cheerful this morning, but the rough night has taken it's toll, and the allergies are still in force. He's gone from happy, giggling rolling in the floor, and playing "Don't touch the camera!" with mommy:
To sweet and cute, saying "Too! (I love you) mommy..."
To total space cadet and crashing for 15 minutes at a time before starting the cycle all over again.
Don't get me wrong, I hate when my baby is sick. I love the extra snuggles, and kisses, though.
I think life has a way of letting us know it's time to slow down.

I Made It Monday(a little late): Re-worked tee-shirt

I stink, I know. I'll try not to anymore. So the pink part of this shirt was one of my favorites, before I had my son. WBH bought it for me- we both thought it was clever, since he's a jeweler. Since having Stinky, the shirt didn't fit so well, but i really wanted to wear it. The secret? Rough-edge applique.

Basic instructions: Cut the logo out of the old shirt and pin to the new one (in this case, a clearance top from Jo-Ann). Stitch around the edges, being careful not to stretch the fabric as you do. Repeat until you have the desired border around the original image. Ta-Da!

It did pucker a little, but after washing the shirt, it seems to have minimized the puckering!

dishcloth swap topic

This week at the dishcloth exchange, the challenge is to findout what we have in common with fellow-swappers. Without further ado,

Alissa and I have recently posted pictures with cupcake shops in them, prefer pumpkins and shower gel that smells like food, and have wool allergies.

Rhea and I both loved Harry Potter and Little Women

and

Darcy and I both celebrated Talk like a Pirate Day. I did so by asking WBH if he'd like some booty. Oooh.. on that note, he's home! See ya!

Market Day

Stinky and I invited my mom to the Tacoma Farmer's Market with us today. We needed apples! Stinky usually gets one that he works at all day long, and was broken hearted when we ran out this week- honest to goodness, crying big tears. He doesn't wake up well. I didn't think to bring my camera, so I'm so glad I figured out how to transfer cell phone pictures!

After scouting out the booths, we took a break at TacomaMama's wonderful bubble and chalk area. It kept him occupied for somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour, with a lunch break in the middle. He didn't always get quite how to work the bubble wands. Inhaling, for instance, can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

A latin band was playing, and Stinky spotted the kndergarteners on a field trip dancing (two of his favorite things together: big kids and music) and had to join in. We found a great deal on apples, and I picked up some gorgeous creamy-yellowy wool yarn for the dishcloth swap package I'll be sending- it's from a company called SmartMonkey that repurposes yarn. It was hard to choose only one skein- I wanted them all for myself!

After lunch and shopping, we had to clean the soap out of Stinky's mouth- so we popped in to Hello Cupcake at the end of the trip (side note: if you live in the area, this store is worth the trip! Everything here is good!) He proceeded to eat the frosting and refuse the cake. Grandma and I had to step in and help him out. Really, it would have been wasteful not to.

Pictures tomorrow of our finished "Strange Creatures" wall. I can't wait to show you- it looks so cool!

Seasons: an epiphany!

I had errands to run after church with the family being sick, and it let me have some alone time while still enjoying the leftover feelings of a really good meeting. I drove through one of my favorite stretches of freeway, a stretch that comes alive with color when the leaves turn. I got excited, thinking how much I will love driving through there when they change. This is where my epiphany hit.

As what would have been my due date approaches next month, I've been struggling with my feelings about the miscarriage. I've run the gamut of emotions where somedays I've felt almost overwhelmed with sadness for what we would have been preparing for, other times, it's been anger that this has happened, and other days I've had deep envy for those who are expecting. I've become more and more frustrated at how unfair infertility is. It's been more difficult since WBH and I decided that this fall is not the right time to try again, as we'd been discussing.

Back to the drive, though: Going through the canyon road, I thought about how silly it would be to be angry at the leaves for not changing sooner, or wishing that winter would hurry up and get here, while it's still warm and sunny and beautiful. I know those seasons will come, and that I will love it when they do. Then I realized how that related to my emotional state. This is just the season I am in now. I can't be angry at winter for not being here sooner; it has to come in it's own time. Our having another child will come; now is not the season for that.

Looking back, what's going on right now is much like when I was on some rough meds to treat my endometriosis, before we could try to conceive. It was a season we had to endure (and I really mean endure- that stuff was awful), until it was time for the season to change. This phase of life is so much more joyful than that one was. Yes, it means some waiting, and some sadness. The joy I have with my family now, is so much greater than my impatience and sadness are. Soon enough, our season will change, and I believe that more children will join our family. The difference is, I see that it doesn't do any good to pout and sulk that the time doesn't come any faster when so many good things are happening now.

Today I came across these scriptures on a box at Target, and it solidified my feelings from this weekend:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I'm finding that when something doesn't sit right with me, or I struggle with something, the best thing I can do is to live with it for a while , and almost as soon as I stop fighting it, Heavenly Father shows me the answers in a way I'll understand. I don't know why I had to go through the miscarriage. I know from our fertility problems before Stinky that the timing of our children is important- that was the answer to many of our prayers. I don't have the answers to all of my questions- but I do have peace about them now.

Ecclesiastes 3: 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time...

I Made it Monday: Embroidered Onesies

One thing I love about "making stuff' is the ability to give customized gifts at a feartion of the cost. That's the case with these customized onesies , a gift for our newphew's birthday. The heart banner was filled in with "Mom" after the picture was taken, but my favorite thing about this picture? The Balloon dog was made by WBH. How cool is he? My brother-in-law is The Balloon Guy, so we thought it only fitting.

Book of Mormon Stories

Each day we spend at home, I take a minute to do a little bit of scripture reading with Stinky. My mom found the old scripture readers in their family room and passed them on to us. Stinky loves reading enough that I'd give them a try , and it's been a success. Somedays are shorter than the others, but other days he likes to sit and thumb through the pages with me. We start with a prayer, and always ask for Stinky to understand what we're reading. Then we read as much as he'll go for out of a section I've chosen (I'm selective- we read about Jesus' birth, but not so much about Herod killing babies. He's still little).

The other day, he was content to cuddle and thumb through after we'd read all I'd planned on that day, and we came across a picture of Jesus in Gethsemene. He said "Jesus?" I said "Yes, he loves you very much." He stared for a moment, and then gave me the biggest hug I'd had in a long time. I was very proud in that moment. We can't get through an entire sacrament meeting, but I can help to teach him at home, and help him feel the spirit here.

Survey for a craft swap I'm doing: feel free to ignore!

1. Do you knit or crochet? For how long? I knit. I learned when I was 10, but have taken lots of breaks since then :) I can't seem to wrap my head around crocheting. Maybe someday.

2. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using the most? Are there some you've been dying to try out and haven't? I'm not picky- I like the way circulars distribute the weight.

3. What kind of projects do you most enjoy? Small things you can take with you, or big complex ones that are just gorgeous when they're done? I'm not quite ready for big and complex. I did knit my son's first halloween costume (a red hooded cardigan with horns, matching pants with a tail), though, and a cardigan/coat for Christmas. I was super proud of it. I guess I like trying unusual and new things! I'm working on the mowhawk hat from Domiknitrix for my husband.

4. List one pattern for a dishcloth that you love to make, or just tell us about one you've made or received that you loved. I haven't made one before- my mother has done several, but the one I'm working on right now is super cute!

5. What are your 'must have' notions? Are there any notions you need or can never have enough of? Any that might make you cry if you owned more? I could use some stitch holders.... but I don't think there's such a thing as too much craft stuff. If there is, I'm not there yet!

6. What are your favorite yarns to work with? Any you hate or are allergic to? I'm an advanced beginner when it comes to knitting, so I often stick with the cheap stuff. Lion Brand is my friend, and I LOVE their organic cotton yarns. I'm allergic to wool and silk, so I haven't tried to find one I don't react to yet. Maybe someday I'll try alpaca!

7. What colors do you like to use in projects? Any we'd never catch on your needles? I'm not a big purple fan, it feels like it stifles my creativity when I try to use it. I know, it is weird.

8. Any cottons you'd like to try you can't find by you, or just haven't gotten around to getting? I'm open to just about anything!

9. Do you like to use bar soap or shower gel more? What kinds of scents do you love? What kind do you hate? Shower Gel- I hate when bar soap gets mushy. We usually go for fruity/foodie scents around here.

10. What's more 'Halloweeny' - Ghosts, Pumpkins, or Witches? Ghosts and witches tie it up there , but I love pumpkins because you can extend their use to Thanksgiving!

11. What's your favorite Treat to get? Sweet or Salty? Anything you're allergic to or just hate? Dislike spicey things. Laffy Taffy is probably my favorite treat.

12. What was your favorite Halloween Costume as a kid? As an adult?? I just loved that I got to wear makeup on Halloween! Last year, after playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, I kept my costume and went as Dorothy, a great time, but the ruby slippers just about killed my feet!

13. Are you on Ravelry? Nope.

Our Dog

Clyde, our Great Dane, joined our family this April, and we all adore him. He is now 6 months old and 94 pounds at his last weigh-in. Clumsy and loving, this guy is a sweetheart. He loves Stinky and protects him from everything- other dogs, the mail man, and even me sometimes, when stinky gets in trouble.

Today, Clyde is going to the vet for that big appointment. See (a little less of you) in the morning, big guy.

Blogging for a Cause

Over at Navel Gazing at its Finest , they are putting together a book of blog entries. The proceeds of this book will go to the NieNie Recovery , to help a wonderful LDS blogger and her family. If you haven't heard, NieNie and her husband were in a terrible plane crash and are both still listed in critical condition. I've submitted my post "Milestone" for this book, and if you've gone something that matches what they're looking for, I'd encourage you to send it in!

I Made It Monday: Strange Creatures

I wanted very much to get more on the walls in Stinky's room. He loves animals, going to the zoo, and watching animal planet. His room already has his name in animal prints, a mural from It's a Big, Big Word courtesy WBH's mad skills, and a recently acquired lion rug. It doesn't look like it's taxidermied, I promise.

The goal was to keep with the animal theme, and to keep it cheap. I found a book, published in 1957, called "All About Strange Creatures of the Present." The pictures in the book were perfect, and the price couldn't be beat at $.50.

Add a few frames on clearance at target, and you've got some great, custom wall art.

Total cost on the project was about $12. I can't wait to get them on the wall!

Thursday Night Lights

At last week's first football game of the season, Stinky managed to make his way onto the field sometime in the second quarter. Fortunately, all of the action was on the other side of the field, but it didn't stop the heart attack I had as I chased him down the track. Even though I graduated almost ten years ago, and didn't play a single sport, I ran interference this weekend!



After his attempt to join the big guys, he seemed to be content to eat popcorn, scream "A-Town" with his family and flirt with the cheerleaders. We let him run all over the field after the game, which he loved.

How was your weekend?

Back to School

photo by Aaron Harmon



"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

-Tom Hanks as Joe Fox in You've Got Mail

I love back to school time. It always feels like the right time to try to do better, to start anew. I loved the energy of being back on campus, where everyone's excited/nervous/dreading the first day. I still love this time of year when the mornings are just a little cool, and you can sense fall all around.

Now that I'm a teacher's wife, it is a little more bittersweet. No more cuddling in bed with no plans at all for the weekday. I think Stinky is adjusting to his dad not being here with him all day, too. Poor little man asked if Dad would be at home when we left the park today.

"I Made It" Monday: Family Puppets

I love craft blogs. Someday, I hope to have one of my own. For now, "I Made It" Mondays is a good place to start.

These cuties were a gift for my friend's son on his birthday. I made each puppet to look like a family member, and embroidered the faces so that no pieces can be bitten off by little ones!