Productive

Robert decided to ride his bike to work this morning, even thought it was 29 degrees out when he left at 645am (for reference, it's a 24 mile ride, and he's found that his fingers don't really do well in below freezing temps for that long). This meant that the kids and I had a car on a day he was at work, a rarity in the winter/early spring. It also meant that he left home before Zion and Liel woke up.

At 6:55am Zion bounded into my room, ready to get Daddy and play a bit of trains before work. Only Daddy wasn't there. Zion curled up next to me and cried a little bit while I scratched his back. I pointed out that the upside of Daddy riding his bike to work was that we had the car, and we could use the car to go to the craft store and buy more stickers (the kids have "Kindness Charts" where good behavior is rewarded with stickers). Our sticker supplies are non-existent at this point. That perked him right up; he actually sat up and began speaking very fast in his excitement over new stickers. He would choose dog stickers, he told me. Did I remember that little white dog sticker? It was so cute.

I heard Liel, so I got her and brought her to bed, too. She'd peed in her diaper and said she didn't need to pee anymore, and I naively trusted her. She and Zion bounced around the bed for a few minutes, and then Liel fell off and bonked her head, just as I'd been warning her she might if she continued to disregard the edge of the bed in such a callous fashion. Wailing ensued. So I scooped her right up and snuggled her on my lap. 5 seconds later she froze. "I need to potty", she announced, and right at that moment I felt pee all over my legs. And my sheets. So we all got out of bed and I started a load of laundry.

By 9am everyone had had breakfast and we'd made applesauce (from the last of our CSA apples) and granola. By 10am we were all dressed and out the door. We went to the craft store and bought stickers (and I negotiated cart politics since they both wanted to ride). We went to the grocery store and bought supplies for the nursery school (and I negotiated more cart politics, which ended with Zion being asked to leave the cart since several warnings had not produced kind behavior towards his sister. He laid down in the check out aisle for a moment and then got teary and came over for a hug). We came home and hand lunch. We read stories. I put Liel down to nap and Zion and I sorted through all the hand me down clothes our friends have sent for Liel. We filled two boxes of things that Liel has outgrown or that won't fit her next season to return to the Tolls, and made the happy discovery that Liel doesn't need anything for her summer wardrobe other than a pair of flip flops (Zion is a different story, of course. No one seems to send us little boy clothes! And if Zion is any indication I know why: they are all too worn out to be reused). We boxed the clothes, and a package for Becka. After nap time we took them to the post office, and went to the library to get a DVD Robert wants to show in his Religion and Contemporary Art class tomorrow.

And I even cooked dinner.

Yarn money

So, it turns out that I knit more than I can wear. And I'd like to buy more yarn. So from time to time I'll post stuff here that I'd like to re-home. If you're interested in buying, leave me a message and we'll chat!

Tonight I'm offering up this sweater I designed. I love it! It's cozy and warm, and the (hand spun and hand dyed) wool yarn is soft enough to wear next to the skin. I think it could fit a bust size of anywhere from 33"-38" depending on how you like to wear your sweaters (for reference I'm about a 36" bust). Totally one of a kind!




I'll send it to you for $60, including US shipping!!

Wanna go down to the dump?

Just moments ago I took Liel to the bathroom to pee. First she arranged her "gun" (one of Robert's juggling clubs) next to the toilet, and then she peed. After she had done so, I handed her some toilet paper.

Liel grabbed the toilet paper and stuffed her hand between her legs. Then she held still. "I did wipe", she announced, not moving.

"Oh.", I said. "What are you doing now?"

"I wiping", she replied. Then she pulled her hand out and said, "May I have some more toilet paper?"

"Yes", I said, handing her some.

This time Liel quite obviously wiped herself. "Did you accidentally drop the toilet paper the first time?", I asked shrewdly.

"Huh, I did", she confirmed as I helped her down.

"That's alright", I said, "sometimes that happens." Liel continued to stand right in front of the toilet, staring at me. "Well", I said, "could you please move? I think I'll pee now".

Liel picked up her gun. "And I think I'll go shoot some rats!", she said as she exited the bathroom.

Eating your veggies

Both kids have colds. Nothing awful, but Liel's been feeling pretty icky and wanting lots of physical contact. She's woken up several times already tonight crying because she can't find her nose-wiping cloth. Poor baby! I gave her a homeopathic sinus remedy and snuggled her and told her I'd come back if she needed me. "I dooooo!", she wailed. So I stayed until she fell asleep. She's so sweet and sad!

But on to the veggies! Due to my near-complete lack of pots (Emile Henry has not responded to my email, I need to remember to CALL them, sigh!) dinner can be challenging to cook. Tonight I made pita bread and hummus and steamed broccoli. Ooooo. Ahhhhh. Liel actually likes broccoli and was eager to eat hers as soon as it was cool. At least, she was eager to eat about 2/3'ds of it. Then she got bored and started shredding it into a pile next to her plate. "Rrrrrrip!", she said happily, "Rrrrrrip!"

Zion meanwhile downed his hummus and pretended his broccoli did not exist. Robert offered him some vegan ranch dressing to dip it in, assuring him it was very tasty. Zion reluctantly dipped his broccoli in the proffered dressing and put it in his mouth. Then his face lit up. "That is delicious!", he exclaimed. He held up his piece of broccoli for inspection. "I sucked it all off!"

The big day(s), day late

And now Zion is 4! Since I'm so behind in posting this I'll just give the super condensed version of his arrival in the world. Born at home, 11 days after his estimated due date and 25 hours of labor. Healthy, hungry, and wonderful.

We spent Sunday with Kenn and Giselle in Sunset Park. Zion really wanted to open his Ratchet transformer from Grampa and Noona AND ride the train with Ratchet. So he opened his gift.



Then we took the train to the end of the line in Bay Ridge and headed to a park. We didn't stay too long because it was raining (not hard, but still), but fun was had by all.





Upon returning to K&G ranch we cook burger and fries and mixed up this gorgeous salad- Zion's menu choices! (Seriously- tell me that salad isn't one of the pretties you've seen all day!)



After dinner Zion finally got to open his gift from his aunt and uncle: train tracks!



Oh yes, there was the un-pretty cake, too. It was delicious, I must tell you. Totally rock star in the mouth. Both kids enjoyed it.

In which it is shown that Jovis probably shouln't bake cakes

So, Zion's birthday is on Monday (for the historically inclined, today is the day, 4 years ago, that I caved in to my own desperation and took castor oil!). When I asked him what kind of cake he'd like he gave me a surprisingly detailed and creative answer for a four year old (at least in my experience). He said that he wanted, "a vanilla cake, with almonds. And with chocolate frosting so that it looks like a chocolate cake, but really it's a vanilla cake!" (I am totally glowing with foody mama pride over this, in case you were wondering!)

Anyway, this request was later modified somewhat to include strawberries and whipped cream and vanilla frosting instead of chocolate. I had this vision in my head, a vision of a layer cake with strawberry jam in between the layers, with a light coating of vanilla buttercream and sliced almonds all around the edges. Just before serving it would be topped with a glorious mound of whipped cream.

This afternoon I made strawberry jam (12 oz organic strawberries + 3/4 c sugar). Then I read a bunch of cake recipes, none of which were quite right for reasons of flavor or eggs or both. Then I baked my own cakes.

First the overflowed and burned a bit in my oven (the overflow, not the cakes). Due to the overflow the cakes were not pretty, but I didn't mind since they'd be covered up anyway. The real heartbreaker is that one of them just plain refused to come out of the pan, and the other came out rather unwillingly, resulting in further damage to its aesthetic appeal. *sob* Two guesses who'll be baking another cake tonight after the kids are in bed....(the party is in Brooklyn tomorrow, you see.)

I suppose I should look on the bright side and focus on how much nicer this is than being 9 days past one's due date and drinking castor oil!

Later that evening....

Well, I just couldn't face making another cake. So I decided to try putting the jam on the one layer, and then some sliced almonds, and then topping it with whipped cream tomorrow. Here's the result. It's not too bad, right?




And, for fun, here is the jam. Robert tasted it and said, "Good strawberry jam!" "Yes," I replied, "I'm very good at making jam. Just not cakes!"

Your gramma's knitting

OK, so we nearly all have this cultural image of knitting being an activity of grandmothers. Even if you personally know members of the younger knitting generation (which I'd say most of you do, LOL), the gramma thing still persists a bit.

My grandmothers do not knit. But I have non-knitting friends who's grandmothers were knitters, and oh how I have benefited! So today I'm giving a public shout out/thank you.

When I was in grad school my friend Taline gave me her grandmother's knitting needles. There were about 10 pairs in different sizes, all rolled up in a pretty red felt case and tied with a white bow. She was never going to use them, she explained, and she'd like them to go to someone who would. I was delighted, and use those needles (and the case, which I really dig) still.

Recently my friend Abby asked me if I'd like her grandmother's knitting things- some yarn and needles. As if I were capable of turning down knitting stuff! So Abby very kindly mailed me several boxes of yarn and one box of knitting hardware. You know, needles in all kinds of sizes, stitch markers, stitch holders, tapestry needles, cable needles...anything you might need to complete a knitted item other than yarn. I thought I'd be more excited by the yarn, but time has proven me wrong. I keep that box tucked under my bed, right next to where I do most of my knitting. Does my pattern suddenly require makers? Out comes the box! Am I going to do a little cabling? Out comes the box! Need to check my gauge? Box! The box is a delightful jumble of plastic and metal and and has never yet failed to produce what I need (or at least something close enough to work). I call the box "Abby's grandma". It wasn't intentional...but one day when I needed something I knew I'd never purchased myself I told Robert, smugly, "That's OK, I bet Abby's grandma has it". And she did.

So Abby, I hope you're not offended or appalled that your grandmother's knitting tools have come to personify her in my mind! I'm ever so grateful to have them tucked away under my bed.

And if any of the rest of you have stash from your own knitting grandma, you know who to call... (NO! Not them! ME!)