Author Archives: WoolyMama

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Hello Delicious

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Ok, I haven’t been knitting lately.  I caught the sewing bug so I’ve been drowning myself in fabric.  But I promise I will be working on some wooly projects shortly.

I’ve also been doing some more cooking and baking.  With the prices of everything going up up and up, we’ve been taking a closer look at our spending and trying to decide where we can cut back and budget better.  Step one for me was simply to not go anywhere.  If we stay home and find ways to entertain ourselves at home then we are using less gas.

We also bought a large plastic container with a locking lid so that we can more effectively compost.  We’ve been only doing a half – assed job of it lately, but the less garbage we produce, the less garbage bags we use……you know.  Plus more compost equals nice garden.  Speaking of which, check it out:

Have you ever seen such huge squash leaves???  And let me tell you, we are squashing it up big time.  I may have to take up canning.

I have also discovered some nice little tomatoes growing in that should be ripening up nicely soon, and there are some lovely flowers popping up:

I have also planted some cucumbers and lovely little flowers that my neighbor brought over.  I have the best neighbors!!!!

But back to cooking.  I want to eat as cheaply as possible, but I really like to have a wide variety of foods.  Let’s face it – hot dogs and spaghetti are nice and economical but they get old REAL fast.  So I sat down with my trusty Cooking Light magazines and came up with a bunch of simple and flavorful “peasant meals” of various origins.  I have a great list of quick and easy curries I want to try but I’ve been waiting for Paul to be out of town again because he doesn’t like curry.  (Crazy, right???  I mean, who doesn’t like curry?????)  BUt he does enjoy Cuban food a lot.  SO when I found a Venezuelan variation on Black Beans and Rice, I knew I had to try it.  The best part is  how few ingredients there are in it.  I didn’t have any black beans but I already had the rice and seasonings, so I just bought beans and some plantains and a lime.  And this was the result:

Can you say YUMMY???  Everyone loved it (even the picky kids!!!) and there was enough leftover for a whole other meal, possibly TWO!  In fact we’ll be finishing it off tonight along with the Hoisin Chicken Buns I’ll be whipping up (thank you again to Cooking Light!)

And then there was the pie.  We got some blueberries at Sam’s Club so I turned them into this:\

So while I did great with the beans and rice (no fat, thank you very much) I have been overdoing it on the pie.  I need to do double the yoga now.  But hey, it’s worth it.  The way I see it, what’s summer without a blueberry pie?

With any luck I’ll manage to find a whole heaping mess of cheap meals that everyone will love and our grocery costs will decrease.  That’s the goal.  We are suffering from lack of swimming, but as I’ve said before I just can’t justify the cost of the pool here too often.  It’s too bad there’s no pool here at home – we’d have a blast this summer without ever leaving our back yard!  I just have to find other ways to keep the kids busy.  They have an awful lot of energy and I have a hard time getting them to burn it off properly.  Mostly they fight and drive me crazy.  We will go on vacation this summer for a week – up to NY to see the in – laws.  I can’t wait to get these kids out of state for awhile and do some fun things with them.  Locked up inside in front of the tv is no way for kids to spend summer vacation.  Especially Neve, since she’s starting school this fall.

In the meantime I’m cleaning the house, trying to de-clutter and make things more efficient, and having cuddle time with the cutest baby ever.

Unknown's avatar

Of All the Deadheading in My Life…..

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This phase is my least favorite.

Deadheading phase number 1 took place in my high school days.  Back when I used to like to draw dancing bears, wear tie dye and rock out to some Uncle John’s Band. The peak of my deadheading days was probably along about junior year when my then boyfriend and I went to see the Dead play at the Knick in Albany, NY.  (It’s since been renamed something banal like Pepsi Arena or something, but it will always be “The Knick” to me).  That was several years before Jerry died and we were young and fun and loved all things hippie.  I was also crazy insecure back then  because I also was heavy into The Cure and Depeche Mode and I loved New Wave Punk, and I thought I couldn’t possible do both, that I had to pick one place to fit into and couldn’t be a “multi – genre” teen.   How glad am I that I have grown up and realized I can like all sorts of different things that don’t fit together, and that’s OK.  I can wear a chic designer piece of clothing along with something old and vintage.  I can make a mixed cd with some Dead, The B52’s, some great 80’s Brit rock and some Hindi music.  Why not?

My second phase of deadheading was my favorite.  That was in my bus driving days in college.  Deadheading was when you had no passengers on board and you got to drive off route to whatever your destination was.  Not that deadheading specifically was my favorite; the bus driving itself was.  I never thought I could learn to drive a transit bus.  I didn’t even like big  cars let alone a 35 foot long passenger vehicle.  Navigating those badboys around the University was some of the best times I’ve had, and I still feel a great sense of accomplishment for having done it.  And it really proved even more that I could be more than one thing.  I can be feminine and frilly and still love the smell of diesel at 4 in the morning.

Which brings me to the current deadheading phase.  The one I don’t like.  Hint: it involves petunias and geraniums.  Getting outside every day to pick the dead flowers off is one big pain in my butt.  I don’t so much mind the watering, because when it’s 800 degrees outside (like today), I can always water myself, too.  But the deadheading requires standing in one spot reaching over my head picking out the dead stuff from the hanging baskets.  Last year it was a real pain, because I was pregnant with Oona and largely having to stay off my feet.  This year it’s not as bad, except that now I am one handed and there’s a 20 lb baby hanging off of me the whole time.  But, at least my efforts are rewarded with nice full plants.  And who can argue with that?

Unknown's avatar

Sew Hot In Here

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Well I’ve been husband – less for the better part of the month, and as we prepare for his imminent return I’ve been taking stock of how things have held up over the past couple of weeks. I think I’ve done pretty well, if I do say so myself. The house looks pretty darn good for only having one responsible adult and 3 small children (plus all the pets).

I’ve gotten a lot accomplished as well, given the circumstances. I painted the play/craft room and moved all of my “stuff” into it. I even got some stick – on “stained glass” for the palladium window over the kids’ toys:

Check out that color!!!

I’ve gotten the kids to the pool twice – I would have gone every day but it costs $20 every time we go. Each time when we left I had 2 screaming girls who wanted to stay in the pool “forever or at least every day”.

I’ve managed to feed them all decent meals and I’ve gotten to do yoga on Wii Fit every day (I make Emily help with Oona….)

And I’ve taken a break from knitting to do some sewing. Yep. I’m hot into sewing right now. I made quite a bit recently, including an orangey shirred – top dress for Neve:


And I had to make one for Oona to match:

I’ve also made a few things for me but I have no pictures yet. 8 and 5 year olds don’t make the best photographers unless you want a more “abstract” theme. I also have a quilt I am working on with some awesome fabric that has cute little VW buses on it. It’s perfect for us, of course.

In other news:

The vegetable bed has exploded in the last week, since we’ve had tons of humidity and rain:

I have a few yellow squash coming in, and the tomatoes are budding like mad. Unfortunately the japanese beetles are also back, and swarming like you wouldn’t believe. One of them traveled into the house in my hair yesterday and nearly gave me a heart attack. Speaking of which – we seem to be working on a 2 spider per day average. Happily they have not been too large, but they have been quick and I don’t like them either way. They’re probably after the colony of fruit flies that has taken up residence in my kitchen sink, despite all efforts at total cleanliness.

I’m happy to see that Ice Road Truckers is back on. The only disadvantage to being up in the craft room all the time is there is no satellite up here. I will be needing to remedy that. Can’t miss my Discovery and History channels, after all.

All in all things have been busy and active despite the lack of going anywhere much and pulling in all the spending reins to save cash. Gas and food prices being what they are has had me budgeting much tighter lately. I don’t go to the grocery store without a list and a full out plan for how we can eat well yet cheaply for as long as possible. It seems to be working fairly well – today was the first day I did a big grocery shopping in two weeks and we were still in decent shape. It does mean eating hot dogs for lunch and spaghetti for dinner more often than we’re used to, but hopefully we’ll get a bumper crop of squash and tomatoes this summer to throw on the grill!

Unknown's avatar

Trying Out A New Shade of Happy

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It’s been pretty busy around these parts lately.  School ended May 30, and Neve turned 5!!!  We had a big party for her on the 31st and invited all of her friends (and some of ours) over to play on the big inflatable waterslide and have ice cream cake (mmmm Carvel!).  I can’t believe how big my middle baby has gotten!

But little peanut or no, she’s going to kindergarten in the fall, and let me tell you how happy that makes me!  With all 3 kids at home all day now there’s a lot of referee action on my part, and when she’s here, Maddie’s.  But it was a fun day either way, and I now have to remember to get the thank yous out to everyone.  And then there’s the obligatory “sad doggy” picture.  Pippa was sequestered to avoid puppy induced insanity, and when we let her out after everyone had left, she lay forlornly under the table, snout strategically placed next to a tootsie roll.  In fact, I found that little tootsie roll later (I apparently forgot to move it after snapping the picture) and found two fang marks in it.

Just look at those puppy dog eyes.  She wants it bad.

Anyway, craziness aside, I’ve been pretty happy lately.  Happier than I’ve ever been, I think.  There’s a certain contentment that has settled in lately.  There’s a combination of things helping that to happen, I think.  Maddie’s been around a lot to help out with Oona so I don’t feel so totally overwhelmed every day.  I’ve been able to keep the house fairly decent lately.  About 2 notches above absolute pigsty, which is a huge improvement over my former 8 notches below “should be condemned”.

Also, I got Wii Fit, and I have been practicing the yoga, aerobics, and etc. that it entails.  I basically have my own virtual personal trainer, and thanks to Mads once again, I have been able to work out for 30 minutes every day.  It’s given me a lot more energy and I feel pretty good.  Thanks to that extra energy I’ve been able to stay up past Oona’s bedtime and work on some projects.  I am this close to being done with Em’s socks.  I also have been sewing a lot.  I made Emily a nice skirt and scarf:

Please ignore her scraggly hair and the fact that she’s wearing Maddie’s flip flops which are WAY too big.

I made Neve a dress for her birthday party, and I made Oona a cute little dress and bloomers set.  I have a bunch more projects in mind…..and knowing that I took steps which have greatly added to my happy state of mind.  I re-did the play room, and it is now half play space, half my “studio”.  I can’t even tell you how much I am loving it.  I even got a nice shade of fuschia for the walls that I am love love loving.

So, I have my own space, my veggies in my raised beds are growing by leaps and bounds, and we’ve been eating fresh blueberry gateau.  How can you not be happy?  Even with the day I had today:

1.  Couldn’t get any A/C people out to the house until tomorrow.  Playroom is literally 850 degrees.  I may hurl.

2.  Went to Lowe’s with Oona to buy heat blocking window tint for playroom.  Went to open van’s sliding door, and it broke.  Will.  Not.  Open.

3.  Lowe’s didn’t have exactly what I needed.  Bought only 2 boxes left, and after getting home found that one had been cut already.

4.  Spent $20 to take kids to the pool.  Swam for 5 minutes, then they blew the whistle and made us get out for a 15 minute “rest break”.  After 15 minutes we swam for 10 minutes.  THen they blew the whistle and said we all had to get out because they heard thunder and the pool was therefore now closed.  I drove home with some very unhappy children.  Most expensive 15 minutes I’ve had in a while.

5.  Tried to apply window tint.  Decided after one pane that I’d rather pull all of my toe nails off with pliers than continue.  Will wait for husband to complete the job.

But I am not complaining.  I will instead eat the last piece of this:

White chocolate raspberry tart with chocolate crust.  Yum!!!!

Unknown's avatar

Amazon’s Customer Service Number

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So I have experienced some pretty terrible customer service from Amazon.com recently (more on that another time) and since Amazon.com does not post its phone number anywhere it is pretty impossible to get any kind of satisfaction. There’s a long email chain process you have to follow and then you have the option for them to call you. That’s right – they don’t want their number revealed that badly.

However, there is a site devoted entirely to this problem here, and in that spirit I am publishing Amazon’s number here for anyone who needs it. It’s:

1-800-201-7575

I can’t promise that will help much either, since they’ve outsourced their customer service to somewhere in Asia (and I have nothing but respect for the various peoples and cultures over there but it is very frustrating when you can’t solve your problem because you keep misunderstanding each other).

Happy Amazon bashing!

btw: to be “Amazoned” refers to being totally screwed with no chance of “comeuppance”

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In Which the Universe Doesn’t Hate Me

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For awhile there we were thinking we had some major karmic debt that was crashing down on us demanding repayment, what with the kids getting hurt and bringing home health plagues at every turn.

But the last week or two has been pretty great, I have to admit. We have had some major landscape plans coming to fruition, which makes me very happy. I had one side of the garden area out front bordered in. The front and back deck have been getting stained and are almost done. Paul made me 2 raised garden beds and set them out front and ordered up some dirt. That was his excuse to play with his new toy:

He used this bad boy to move the dirt into the new raised beds.  We got part of the first one filled:

and then ran into a snag:

A busted hydraulic line slowed things down a bit.  I spent time admiring my roses while I waited.

I had a bunch of vegetable plants waiting to go in, and while the machine was being worked on they started looking rather sad.  They also suffered some Sushi – style damage.  Bite marks, chewing, and the like.  So when everything was ready for them to go in the ground I jumped to it.   Unfortunately I wasn’t exactly prepared to do it.  I ended up in the big ol’ box o’ dirt barefoot and using my hands to get the plants set and happy.  It was evening and was somewhat chilly but the dirt was still warm from being in the sun all day.  There was actually something really fulfilling on a primal level about being in the dirt like that and setting the veggies in place.

Anyway I still have a lot of work to do and more plants to put in, but the seedlings are happy in their new home:

Now they just need to grow big and strong and give us some yummy tomatoes and veggies!  So the work continues.  The other box needs to be populated with some squash and I need some flowers to fill in the gaps.  But everything is coming along nicely and I think it’ll look good for Neve’s birthday this weekend.  My baby’s turning 5! And speaking of babies, my little Oona discovered Oreos a few days ago.  Yummy!

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Of Mucous and Migraines and……..Marcia?

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I have got one kick-ass cold going on.  It’s been making the rounds hitting all members of the family, and Oona is its latest victim.  SHe was up all night congested and feverish, poor thing.  Of course you know that means I was up all night as well.  And when I threw in the towel and went downstairs at 2 this morning, Paul was still awake, too, trying to keep the ultra congestion at bay.

The worst of it for me has been that the massive congestion gives me massive migraines.  I took an Immitrex yesterday and was then useless for a good few hours, but when the pill wore off the pain came right back.  Today I’d been keeping it at bay with Advil, but the cottony feeling inside my head just would not let up, no matter what.  And that’s when I though of Marcia.

You see, my friend Marcia used to be knocked around pretty well by allergies when she lived in Virginia, and I remembered reading a while back on her blog that she had tried a Neti pot with positive results, and I figured if it worked for Marcia, it just night clear out my problems as well.  So I tried it today.  I irrigated the crap out of my nasal passages (and hopefully the sinuses beyond) with a nice saline.  And the congestion has lessened quite noticeably! Which is great because I was at the end of my rope, let me tell ya.  I am not 100% better (for example – I still couldn’t taste the super spicy rhubarb chutney and naan I just ate) but it is certainly an improvement.  I’ll do it again in a few hours and see if I can get even better results.

Thanks Marcia!!!!!!

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Cold vs. Allergies

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Either way, I’m sick.  I ache, I’m congested, it stinks.

Mother’s Day was great – I got nice stone edging around my herb garden, and two raised beds made for veggie growing.  Yay!!!

I got next to no knitting done but considering all the landscaping, I won’t complain.  Plus I got the first ever bloom off my rose bush!

Also my peonies are doing very well so I’m excited.  You know, it was only very recently that I smelled a peony for the first time since childhood, and it was amazing how the scent made me feel.  It brought to mind immediately my grandmother.  She had huge peony bushes (and lilacs and a huge mulberry tree!) at the hotel.  I never had cause to realize how strongly peonies and grandma were connected for me.  It would probably surprise her as well.  And as I write, I just remembered it’s her birthday.  I need to call her and let her know how she’s on my mind quite a lot.  I never get to tell her with all the noise and craziness around here getting in my way.  But really I need to call her anyway, especially now that grandpa is gone, to see how she is doing.  Oona never got to meet grandpa, and I want to be sure my kids get to know grandma well.  Oona’s growing like a weed here.  Just yesterday she had some avocado and a banana cookie.

They grow too fast.

Until they hit about 3 or so – then they don’t seem to grow up fast enough.

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Mother’s Day

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You know, once a year we see all these commercials and sappy cards about how much mom means to us.  And I do buy into it – I think the mother/child bond is a pretty strong one – stronger in most cases than the father/child bond.  (Don’t get me wrong – I think dads are just as important for kids as moms, and I don’t ever want to imply that all moms are better than all dads at the whole parenting thing.  I am generalizing because this is Mother’s Day so forgive me. )

What gets me is that it’s a holiday that seems to say Wow, mom – it must be hard raising kids – thanks for being so graceful at it! The truth is, I don’t know anyone who feels very graceful at it.  And I think the hard work involved gets kind of glossed over in the name of making us feel like a crappy card and some flowers once a year makes up for all the pain & sacrifice.  And since we already know all the reasons why motherhood is worth it, I’d like to make up a list of some of the more painful truths of motherhood that not everyone may realize (hello fathers/husbands – listen up!):

Your body gets weird. Losing the weight from having babies is HARD.  And unless you’ve got the money or support to get childcare and a gym membership/personal trainer/weight set to rebuild your muscle tone…..well you’re going to be all lumpy.  And you will feel like your belly has become some sort of flabby empty pouch.  And the boobs?  Forget it.  If you’re lucky, they’ll just sag a bit.  Most of us end up with droopy skin sacks that look like they belong in National Geographic. Plus there’s stretch marks, and for many of us that nurse, the various bruises and welts that we will sport on our arms and chests from babies who like to squeeze and scratch while they eat.  You also can’t count on getting a regular shower.  So add sweaty, stinky and greasy to the list of how you feel.

Speaking of bodies….you lose your sex life.  It’s hard to get intimate when you have a barnacle hanging off you all the time.  Even when they’re not infants, most kids don’t understand the need for “personal space” or “private time”.  Then there’s the sheer exhaustion.  If all of this weren’t bad enough, many of us are insecure about our post – pregnancy bodies and don’t feel attractive enough (most men don’t seem to be bothered by our new bodies.  They just want to get naked and get it on.  The men that are bothered…well, they are immature jackasses and don’t deserve a baby mama).  No sex equals a lot of tension in a relationship…but it doesn’t matter because you don’t have time for a relationship now anyway.

You can lose your sense of self.  Your interests get subjugated to those of the family.  (no, going out alone to get your hair done does not constitute “me time” anymore than managing an hour without the kids to buy groceries or do laundry does).  You are, for better or worse, chained to creatures who don’t mind screaming and making a spectacle in public and will get in your way no matter what you try to do.  Again, only people with money for nannies or fabulous husbands get regular “free time”.  Even bathroom time is no longer sacred.

You spend great effort to clean/care for/ dress/ feed small people who will complain and fight you every step of the way.  They don’t want to wear that adorable outfit from Gymboree that makes them look sweet.  They want something garish and sparkly that doesn’t match, hasn’t been washed yet and most likely smells of pee.  And just try to brush their hair.

They also don’t want any food you make.  It’s gross.  They don’t care if it’s good for them, if it’s your specialty, or even if you prepared it because you just knew they would love it.  Just because they ate it at grandma’s doesn’t mean they’ll eat it at home.  And if they do, it’ll stain that adorable outfit 3 seconds after you’ve gotten it on them.

Forget sleep.  You’re on duty 24/7 now.  You’ll spend most nights in an awkward position, one ear open and waiting for the sound of being needed.  If you manage to nod off for a quick nap during the day you will encounter either your other child/ren making this almost impossible, a terrible crook in your neck, or your spouse remarking that you certainly don’t look overworked, what with all the snoring and drooling in front of the tv.

If you work outside your home, don’t think you’re getting off easy.  You’re still going to come home and do all the  housework and be mama all night.  It’s sexist, it’s unfair….it’s unavoidable.

The house will never be clean again.  Children are gross.  When they’re not bringing home germs and parasites they are  wreaking havoc on  any sense of order you treasure.  Books and toys scattered everywhere.  Food spilled and smeared on the windows, couch, floor and door knobs.  Crumbs and half – eaten apples under the beds.  An explosion of laundry from which you’ll never satisfactorily recovery.  And a nice little pair of poop stained undies sitting by the front door that you won’t notice until someone pays a visit.

Things you love will be ruined/broken.  It’s gonna happen.  Maybe it’s a cd, maybe it’s your necklace.  Maybe it’s your Kate Spade handbag.  Protect what you can, and be prepared to lose something.

Your patience and strength of will are continually under assault.  You will always be worried, and you will love them so much that sometimes it will hurt.  Like right now, when my 8 month old sweetie Oona is saying “Mama” and giving me kisses.  Looks like it’s payday.

Unknown's avatar

So Traumatized

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Two things happened this weekend which did not add anything to my well – being.

On Saturday Paul and Neve were outside while he moved cars around to work on the truck.  Pippa went wild barking at one point and when I looked out the window I saw Paul and Neve in the driveway making way for a probably 8 foot long blacksnake that was slithering across in front of them.  I ran for the camera, but he was so fast (really really freakin’ fast) he was already headed into the woods.  Apparently Mr. Snakey had been layin’ low under one of our cars.  Eeeewww!  (but at least he kept any mice from crawling into the engine bays)

On Sunday morning I got out of bed and went downstairs to make coffee.  Paul came down with Oona so I made 2 cups of coffee and grabbed 2 chocolate croissants and went over to the couch.  Oona got fussy so I grabbed her from Paul and sat her on my lap.  After a moment I went to grab my coffee on the table in front of me when Paul screamed “Don’t Move!!!” at me and took his napkin and smashed it hard on my shoulder.  He had witnessed a big garden spider CLIMB OUT FROM INSIDE MY  SHIRT and onto my shoulder.  I am still traumatized.

Oh yeah, and thanks to Maddie for promptly reminding me that the average person unknowingly EATS 8 spiders in their lifetime.  (usually in their sleep)

I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again.