Knitting Update and Christmas Loot

My latest knitting project is finally moving along...a pair of socks for my dear brother-in-law, Andy. I love choosing colors for a project while thinking of the person the project is intended for. The great brown and green combination really made me think of Andy's down-to-earth nature. Over the years he and I have become good friends and I really enjoy his company. I am happy to be knitting these for him. This is also my first attempt at a very basic fair isle pattern, of sorts...knitting with two colors at the same time. I am finally knitting the heel flap and socks seem to move along much faster after the turning of the heel. I also recently knit and felted a purse for my sister for Christmas. It was a great quick project and turned out fantastic. I'll have photos later, as I forgot to take some and she's supposed to do it for me soon, I hope! She loved the colors, which I picked out a few years ago and never got around to using. They suit her quite well and I am inspired to make another bag like it as it was SO easy.

On to my loot...mostly knitting loot! I must be thought of as a knitter, finally! This is the first year I have received multiple knitting gifts from multiple people! Matt gifted me a great basic pattern book a few years ago, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, which I have used many times and love. Since then I have nto received any knitting gifts, so this year was special for me! My dear sister-in-law gave me two beautiful skeins of wool yarn by Manos del Uruguay, a great company devoted to helping artisan woman of Uruguay. This is first time I have been gifted yarn! It is such a fantastic gift to receive! Thank
you Presh!
Andy and my sister gifted me two fabulous knitting books, Super Stitches Knitting, and Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Super Stitches is a glossary of 300 stitches and cables! It is superb and fun to look at with great photographs. A creative knitters must have! Last Minute Gifts has great quick knitting patterns organized by how long it takes to knit the project. The length of time ranges from 2 hours to a weekend or a bit longer. I want to make every project and the photographs are fantastic!! I can't wait to get started on some new projects...maybe even a few gifts for my loved ones!
And last, but not least, my dad gifted me a pair of LL Bean Wellies...with moose on them! I asked for a pair of Wellington boots to help me with my yard work at the new house (or "farm" as Sam likes to call it) and he, with help from my sister, picked out these fantastic boots! I love them. Very comfortable and a bit funky...just my style! My mother-in-law also gave me some Sheepskin boots I love, a Sex and the City season from my sister...I was very blessed this holiday season. Thank you to all!

ER Averted

After having been to the ER with both boys a total of 5 times, I think Matt and I have finally learned a few things! Last night Sam was trying to climb from the couch to the coffee table (um, does this sound familiar?) and he fell on his eyebrow, splitting it open with blood everywhere! He cried and shook and I held him and remained mostly calm. Arlo just toddled around and was pretty oblivious. Matt ran to the pharmacy and bought some steri strips and bactine and we performed our own surgical procedure in the bathroom on the counter! A little Ibuprofen, some ice and cuddles and he doing just fine...whew! I am so glad the ER was averted after just receiving the bill from Arlo's mushroom ER visit in October...eeek!

Happy Holidays!

We've returned from a wonderful and strange holiday adventure in the Pittsburgh area. I will post more later with photos of our family and the loot!! Thanks to those of you who thought of me and my family as we remember this time last year. All in all I am doing well as is my sister and dad. We've made it this far together with family and friends and we'll continue to do so in the years to come.

On a brighter side, Matt heard from our transaction broker dealing with our new house. It looks like all is a go and we'll be closing on January 21 and can move in anytime after that! We'd thought the cleaning out of the house might take us into March, so we're thrilled to hear that it will very likely be much sooner AND we'll have time to make some cosmetic changes before we move in...whew!

Never Fail Fudge

A few folks have requested the fudge recipe. I always joke that it is my mother's secret recipe...but it is from the back of the Marshmallow Fluff jar! Here it is:

NEVER FAIL FUDGE

Ingredients:
5 cups sugar
1 large (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1/4 lb. butter
12 oz. (3/4 of 16 oz jar) Marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon salt
_____________

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large (12 oz.) bags chocolate chips
{When making PB fudge, I use 3, 10 oz. bags Reeses PB chips}

*optional: 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan (I use a stockpot, because the mixture expands with the heat, then settles down...but, if it spills over your pan it make a HUGE mess.)
Stir over medium heat (do not cheat and use high heat...) until blended.

2. Bring to a boil over moderate heat (I never change the heat levels) being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Then boil slowly, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. (The mixture will darken in color slightly and you'll know when it is boiling. This last step is the real key. I set a timer for 5 minutes. If you mess up this step it changes the consistency of the fudge and it isn't right....trust me, I've done it.)

3. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients until the chocolate is melted and the fudge is smooth. Pour into 2 buttered 9x9 inch pans and cool.
Yield: approx. 5 lbs.

I usually use the foil pans you can get in the store and then line them with foil and spray them with PAM or olive oil. When the fudge is cool you can life it out with the foil attached and reuse the foil pans.

Happy Fudging!

Holiday Traditions

One of our favorite holiday traditions is making pounds and pounds of fudge, licking the spoons, and then giving it away to anyone that comes within arms reach of our house! This year was my 8th or 9th year making fudge of my own. My mother always made the fudge and one of the first years after I was married, she talked me through the steps over the phone as I stood in my kitchen in Kansas.
This year I had lots of help! Sam was ready and waiting, wooden spoon in hand, to stir until his little 3 1/3 year old arms couldn't stir anymore ( which didn't take long)! He helped with each batch, chocolate, peanut butter, layered. And when it came time to wrap it all up, he was ready to help with the labels, the bags, the ties, even the photograph. (Do you see him peeking through the rows of fudge?)
Then it came time to give the fudge away. All afternoon he watched the neighbors house, waiting for the Christmas lights to be on...that was the sign that they were home. Three times during dinner he ran to the front window to check on "Jessie's house". When he finally saw them park in the driveway, he opened the front door and yelled, "Hi Jessie, we'll be over to bring you FUDGE!" After all coats, hats, boots and gloves had been applied, he ran over to Jessie's house, rang the door bell three times and knocked in between, then handed Jessie the fudge with all his might. She was not as excited as Sam had hoped, but her Barbie collection distracted him and he was off playing in Barbie world.
When in Maine we made sugar cookies and of course, Sam helped. We had lots of them, though they didn't last long and my sister and I ended up decorating ALL of them. It was a fun way to start off the holiday traditions we all know and love!

My Sweet Boy!

At one year old Arlo is amazing! Walking everywhere, running, in fact, to keep up with his big brother. He mimics sounds, waves "bye-bye" , nods "yes", and shakes "no". He can sign "milk", "all done", "hot", sometimes "please". He has a few words, "bye-bye", "mama" and "dada". He is very deliberate in his actions and extremely observant of others and their actions. He knows where things "belong", i.e. the blankets go on the bed, etc. He points at everything and grunts with an intonation of question. When asked to go get something he'll usually follow the direction. He can complete his wooden stacking toy and loves to "race" cars along the floor.
We had a simple party with few gifts, as I have learned how little they play with them and how little they can handle. One or two quality items are enough to sustain a one year old's attention! He was given a couple wooden pull toys, and a fantastic wooden race car from the Maine State prison Showroom.

This morning we had a little crisis when Arlo climbed from his high chair and fell to the ceramic tile floor! He was immediately lethargic and vomiting, pale and sweaty. He wouldn't nurse and wasn't alert....I took him and Sam to the ER! Matt is in San Diego at a conference!
A long story short; he's fine, though had a concussion. After 3 hours at the ER, a 2 hour nap, and a big snack with some mommy milk, he's back to normal! Whew! What a scare.

I can't believe my baby is a year already. Time really does pass much faster with kids....

Link to December of 2006 for a flashback of when my sweet boy arrived!

Travels and Friends

Sam, Arlo and I have been in Maine visiting with my family and some dear, dear friends. Ann and her youngest, Mi-a were here enjoying family for the holidays. Dan and her two sons stayed in France, so this visit was special.

Mi-a i s a sweet little girl with lots of energy. She and Arlo had quite a time being new walkers and explorers.

I have known Ann since were 12 years old and it feels good to have reconnected. There is something to be said for the importance of friendships with history.

We have celebrated Arlo's first birthday, which is today! More on that later, but here is a sneak peak!

We return to Lansing this afternoon!

Forest Road

We went to the house today to share with Matt's Mom and Dad and my girlfriend, Sarah, just what we're getting ourselves into! I took a handful of more detailed images.

We learned so much more about the house, too. Two of the four boys that were raised there were at the house and shared lots of great stories. They also gave me a few photos from 1960 to scan and have to help preserve the history of the house.


You can see in the black and white image on the left (you can click on the images for larger views), the original 1925 house before the addition and removal of the front porch.
The image to left, also taken in 1960, shows the family as posed for a Christmas card.

We walked up and down the 4 acres and explored all over the house. It was fun looking at the house knowing that it really will be our home in just a few months....though hard to see passed the 50 years of photographs and art,
books and heirlooms.

On the right you'll see the kitchen from one angle, notice the stainless steel work space and the 60's built in oven.


On the left is the "informal living room" and the "formal living room" on the right.

The fireplace in the informal living room is a corner fire place with two windows to access it and a fan that is thermostat controlled. While we sat and visited the room became very warm! It was cozy on this cold, early winter day.

The master bedroom is so wonderful with a fireplace and really great light. You can see on the left the dormer window and the fireplace with the mantle. I can just imagine having some fresh balsam fir clippings and holly berries on the mantle with a crackling fire at Christmas time next year.

As mentioned before, outside there is plenty of garden space and here you can see the six raised beds and a proper larger garden space around it. There is a 27 tree apple orchard and two large mature concord grape vines. We'll have more than enough to keep us busy indoors and out!
The image below and on the right shows the driveway and the detached garage. It used to be the original barn that went with the farmhouse, but has been since remodeled and is in great shape. It is built into a hill, so there is car space on the upper ground level and a huge amount of space (could fit cars) on the lower level. It could easily house a wood working shop for Matt AND a pottery studio for me, should I ever return to that. The driveway looks longer in the photo than it really is, but it gives a sense of where the garage sits in relation to the house.

I am not sure that I have made it clear in previous posts, but this house and land is in Lansing city limits. It is 2 miles from the university and from all the wonderful things this city has to offer. There is a bus stop right in front of the house that has a direct line to the library! To the left is a Google Earth satellite image that illustrates where the house and land are in relation to things close by. To the North and West of the property (outlined in red) is the Fenner Nature Center. It is owned by the city and has miles of hiking trails. We'll have access through the fence in the backyard!

Having been to the house 3 times in the last month, I am increasingly aware of how lucky we are to have found this perfect homestead. The pressure of finding a place is off, now the waiting to move in begins. We have our inspection on Wednesday!

Offer Accepted!

Yes! Our offer was accepted and though there are still inspections and mortgage applications and yada, yada, yada, to go through...it looks like we'll be the proud owners of our dream house! I am floating on cloud nine!

Offer In!

We put an offer in on our dream house yesterday! Now we wait....for a response, for our hearts to explode, for the phone to ring.....for Tara's baby to arrive (okay, not related, but still heavy on my mind as we wait.)

I don't know what else to write. I am scared because it will be the largest mortgage we've ever had; because we could be the owners of a very large house with 4 acres of land and LOTS to do always; because the seller may decided that our offer is too small and it is all we can offer, we have no more.

I will post as a response comes in.....hopefully sooner than later!

Blast from the Past

No, I am not pregnant again, but recently I have been thinking and talking a lot about being pregnant. I have three good friends that are at different stages in their pregnancies, in three different parts of the country! Today at my weekly playgroup, my pregnant friend here in town, arrived looking so beautiful and round in her 2nd trimester. It is fun to talk with her and I shared some photos of my pregnancies past. This image came up and I don't think I shared it when I was pregnant with Arlo....it is a good one!

Riding Along

What a Great Accomplishment!

For those of you that are close to us, you know what a long struggle potty learning has been. In fact, I was kidding myself when I thought it had been only a few months of trying....when I read past blogs to discover that it was an entire YEAR ago that we first began potty training!!! So, you will know the relief and accomplishment associated when I write that Sam is officially potty trained! From the get-go we told Sam that when he was potty trained he could get a bike...thus the Diego bike above. On Sunday we took Sam to pick out a bike and he chose Diego, even though he has never seen a Diego show! I have to admit, it was the nicest there, blue and orange!
We've been out every day riding! Congratulations Sam!
Tomorrow we'll have a potty party for Sam with our regular Wednesday playgroup, cake and all!

The Beauty of Two Boys

Sock Update

Here is the first in the pair to be completed. As I mentioned before, I realized I wasn't going to have enough of the chunky natural colored yard to make two complete socks, so I found this great off-white wool to add in. I actually really like the irregular stripes and I think the sock turned out pretty good. The toe has some issues due to needles being pulled out more than once by a certain little baby....but I managed to finish it and it fits me quite well. I think I will actually keep this pair of socks!
Next project: (after the other sock) Socks for the boys made from a yummy evergreen wool and maybe matching hats....

On a Happier Note...

P.S. Sam pooped on the potty!

The Ignorance of People

I am so often shocked by the ignorance of people in this world. Whether it be the amount of waste created or the way children are treated; the way people drive or just basic decisions made; I just have to shake my head....unless my children are involved.

Sam has been acting different lately. Not wanting to go to school, saying that school is scary, even regressing with his potty learning.
On Monday he really didn't want to go to school. I compromised with him and told him I'd stay until he was ready for me to leave or if he still wanted to leave school when we got there he could.
I stayed with him for about 45 minutes and he told me I could go. I felt a little strange about leaving, but he was sure.
When I picked him up, his teacher told me that he had 4 potty accidents in the 4 hours he was there, one of which he crawled under a table and peed. This behavior is unlike him and I knew something was going on. He hadn't had a pee accident in nearly 10 days.
That afternoon at home, Sam was peeing on the potty and he said to me," Mom, my penis looks funny." I asked him who told him that and after some questions it was clear that his teacher had told him that his penis looks funny because it is uncircumcised! Still not sure I had the story straight, I told Matt. Later that evening Matt asked Sam what his teacher had said to him and he immediately responded, "my penis looks funny." He was embarrassed about his penis and that comment made him scared to use the potty and even scared to be himself. Shame on Miss Amanda (yup, that's her name).
I talked with Sam some more about school and he decided that he'd like to be home with me until he is completely potty trained and ready for "Miss Deanna's" preschool room.
So, today is the first day he would have been at school and was, instead, here at home with me.
He has been such a dream! He's back to telling me when he needs to use the potty and, because he's still without t.v. we are doing so many fun things together. Life has been better for us with out the tube!
I think today will be the day when he poops on the potty. He's been asking to use the potty to poop all day, even at a playgroup!

The preschool director was very apologetic and was quite appalled that an employee of hers would say such an ignorant and inconsiderate thing.

Here we are back to at home all day with mommy and to my surprise, I am really enjoying it!

Update: Re: Big Changes WARNING: poop talk

Yeah, well the one poop on the potty was very exciting and then reality sank in that, yes, sure enough, you do poop on the potty everytime you poop. Thus, we've had every poop since in the underwear. Ugh. It is so very frustrating and Sam does know where to go...thus we've resorted to taking things (T.V.) away until he poops on the potty. So far, no success. But I think as he goes longer without his beloved T.V. the ultimate goal will sink in....

Big Changes

There have been some BIG changes in the last few days here on Fulton Place.

1. Sam pooped on the potty today of his own free will and by his direction! It was a huge party after with everyone looking at the poop in the potty and lots of hugs and smiles and "hooray's". I am so proud of my big boy who has been dry for two days now!

2. Arlo is now walking! He walked across the bathroom (where we spend LOTS of time lately) yesterday 4 or 5 times and then today he's walked here and there a few times. He still prefers crawling as his fast method of transport, but it will not be long and he'll be off on the two legs all the time. I remember Sam at this stage and it seemed like I blinked and he was running. I am so happy for him, as he is desperate to keep up with Sam.

Yes, we're a pooping-on-the-potty-everybody-walking-family now. Whew!

Photo Booth Self-Portrait

Successes

We've recently had some successes that are really making all of us feel good:

1. Sam now tells us when he needs to use the potty for pee pee (poo poo is still harder for him to verbalize...we'll get there). I am not stressing about making sure he sits on the toilet every half an hour and he is much more relaxed too.
2. Sam is beginning to like his school. After three days this week at school, he had progressed from needing me to stay and having lots of potty accidents to waving me goodbye before we've even made it to his classroom and having dry underwear all morning! Whew!
3. Matt has an office with a view of the Veterinary school! He has been stressing about not having a work space and it came to him this week. He's been commuting by bus and carpooling and it seems to be working thus far.
4. I am beginning to meet some other mothers. Slowly, but surely. I have met two in particular that I really enjoy. I am a part of a "professor's wives" play group that meets Friday mornings. I am pretty sure I like it, but it is a little elitist. I think I'll keep going for a while, and maybe for a long while, but we'll see. Most of the moms seem pretty cool.
5. I was able to transfer the car title and get a MI driver's license (which was much harder than it should have been) after two trips to the Secretary of State (DMV).
6. The boys seem to be settling in to the house and, as I write, are playing so well with toys in the living room. They really enjoy each other and after nearly 2 months here, I think they are getting used to the house.

What's up with us?

After spending 5 days in Pittsburgh/Templeton, PA area visiting family, we have returned to Lansing refreshed and ready to be here! It was lovely seeing everyone, but we're tired of traveling and driving and not having some sort of routine....

Sam has been in underwear during the day for 3 days now and he is doing really quite well. We've definitely have some accidents, only one today, and pooping on the potty is proving to be a REAL challenge, but we can see the progress and we'll just keep going like we are. It won't be long and he'll be potty trained.

Matt begins work tomorrow and Sam starts school tomorrow and I am afraid I won't know what to do with myself! I have planned to go to the local LLL meeting, which will be my first and I think that will be a good way to start off the week. There are lots of places and shops for me to explore too. Sam will be in school for 5 hours, so I have plenty of time with just Arlo to explore!

After 3 weeks of coughing and a week of night sweats and fevers, I finally went to the doctor to discover I have a nasty bought of bronchitis spread on top of an icky recurrence of my asthma attacks! I am on antibiotics for the bronchitis and it seems to be clearing up. I certainly feel better. I had a breathing treatment at the doctor's office and she prescribed me with new inhalers and they seem to be helping bunch too. I also have a new contact for massage and will be looking into that this week. I hope to be able to get rid of my inhalers all together, like I did in Washington (thanks Sarah!)

Matt has been feverishly searching the web for real estate and we've found a bunch of places we'd like to see in person and one more little town to explore north of here. This house is my favorite so far. Hopefully next weekend we'll make it to St. Johns and explore and within a few weeks we'll be meeting with realtors to actually start looking!

We did finally get new local cell phone numbers, so if you don't have them, please email us and we'll make sure you have the most current number!

It is getting very cold here and it looks like we are now well on our way to winter. I am ready! The fall leaves are changing and falling and you can smell the snow in the air...I am hoping for enough snow to do some cross country skiing!

I have decided to sell my fuzzi bunz diapers as Arlo just can't wear them. His chubby little thighs just don't allow for a good fit. Though we may still have another baby, I have found that I can't put up with the fussiness of the FB fleece. So, I found a mom here in town who seems interested and if she doesn't buy them, I am sure I'll find another mom who will want them. What will I buy with the money I make? Well, I have made another connection in town who makes longies from old sweaters and I have an order in for two pair and with the remaining money I think I'll buy some new fitted dipes or some more prefolds....not sure yet!

My socks are coming along nicely. They will be interesting to say the least, as I have discovered I won't have enough yarn to make two sock exactly the same. I'll have a picture update on that soon...

Images from 2007

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Camping for five days in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has really been the highlight of our vacation.

Our first night was spent on Higgins Lake. The boys had a blast swimming in the lake! Yes, swimming in September!






We had a small crisis when Arlo ate a small part of a mysterious mushroom and we ended up in the Grayling ER! He's fine, however, and the mushroom was deemed non-toxic. You can see the dirty hazards of camping as a crawler!

Our second and third nights we stayed at Taquamenon Falls State Park.
We met a lovely family from Wisconsin with two kids near Sam's age and did lots of hiking...

Our final night was spent near the beach on Lake Superior. It was beautiful! Aside from the nasty stable flies chasing us up and down the beach, it was the perfect camping spot.