are ewe calling me fat?

today we had a playdate. yep. the first one at our house. i know, i'm not one of those moms who are all into playdates and socializing and being all friendly to everyone. I mean, i want to, but it's just not in me.

anyway. Connor invited a friend over who was within walking distance (most of the moms walk to-from school, and if it's too far to walk, playdates just don't happen) and his mom said yes, and there was joy and rejoicing in the land.

had fun, made cookies, did homework, tra la la.

So, this friend is way into dragons. And he and Connor happen to have both been born in the chinese zodiac year of the dragon. I love sheep. I was born in the year of the sheep. (i bet you are all REALLY sick of hearing that, over and over again) This conversation ensues:




CONNOR: i bet the reason you are all soft and fluffy is because you were born in the year of the sheep.

ME: (at first being all, connor do not call your friend fat. that's not nice. and then before that thought can become words i realize that he is talking to ME) What?! I am not soft and fluffy! I am hard like a rock. ( I flex as I say this, and make growly noises)

CONNOR: let me see. so he walks over and pokes. me. in. the. side. with. his. fingers. and then he looks up at me. and then he gets this patronizing voice. you feel just like sheep's wool, mom.

GACK! did I post about the recent "I know that when you grow up, you start growing this way instead of this way." THOSE ways being "out" instead of "up"? Now, I realize that I complain about needing to lose 15 pounds, but hello! I am not fat! I am not "soft and fluffy"! I am NOT. GROWING. OUT! (well.... okay. I guess I kindof am. Now. Or at least, a few months from now. But whatever). And I'm like - Connor.... are you calling me fat?

and he laughs. hysterically.

no mom! of course you are not fat!

well just exactly is it that you are saying then?!

also need to clear the air - in this pretty pretty color blue - about my birthday cake. Craig wanted to make my birthday cake. He wanted to go out and get something wonderful and scrumptious. But I knew what I wanted and I didn't trust him to do it right.

But then I got all sick-feeling halfway through it and had to call for his help anyway and he totally came to the rescue and chopped chocolate and mixed, and stirred, and poured, and baked. My Hero.

it's my birthday!

cha. i only wish that was my birthday cake. i'm making a chocolate layer cake that has pudding, chocolate chunks, and sour cream in the recipe. got it from kraft foods. heaven.

my husband gave me a hug this morning and said. "you're only 29 now. still just a baby." mostly, i feel the same way. still waiting to feel "grown up" and sure about life and all the things in it.

i mentioned that to my old young women's leader back at christmas time. her reply was, "hey, i'm 60 and still waiting!" maybe 75 is the new 30....

thank goodness for a husband who 1) is an artist and knows graphic design 2) owns and knows how to use photoshop 3) has the patience to show me again how to use the scanner and photoshop, even though he knows I'll ask him again in a few months.

i spent a few days designing a quilt with the above fabrics, in different sizes/styles of block. At first I drew up a design that included 4 blocks - one full sized for the large print fabrics, one that was two large rectangles, a 4 patch, and one that was 1 rectangle and 3 small squares.

but that was too busy. oh, heavens, way too busy. and there was too much pink. (note the lack of pink in the above picture.

how did I know this? without cutting a single fabric? wellll - that's where my husband comes in. (many experienced sewers/designers will be thinking, "well, duh" just now. they can read someone else's blog while I'm busy learning new things) (ha! they don't read this blog anyway).

so we scanned in all of the fabrics and moved stuff around and swapped this and that and all kinds of stuff. we argued about color placement (i really didn't want my pinks and reds touching. I lost.) and block size; about adding this fabric and taking out that fabric.

in the end we settled on 8 inch patchwork blocks. I like it, finally. craig's co-worker (who, if you can't tell, plays guitar and has a fondness for rock) has a wife, who is having a baby - and this is for him. (the baby, not the coworker.) (although probably really i could say it really IS for the coworker) (I wonder how long this post would be if I cut out all of the words in parenthesis).

craig also came up with a really cool idea for the back of the quilt. pictures to come, I start cutting tomorrow!

craig took these pictures of the boys in their easter suits. note the easter sunday mess in the background. not sure what the prompt was for this pose, and these expressions:

"were giving all of your toys away to charity"? because it doesn't look very happy...
connor was so full of himself in his suit. he just knew he was all that. i am a stud. and now you all know it.
silly string + 3 kids = way too much fun. When they were empty, I think it was Elle who said, "we're ready for our refills!"

they were totally bummed when there weren't any.

for the three people in the world who don't already know:

and no there is no particular reason I'm typing in pink, except that the above illustration is pink.

i am sicker this time. haven't actually thrown up, but sure have tried several times. so fun. everyone is asking if I want a girl this time.

well.... sure. It'd be fun to have a girl. But it would also be fun to have a house full of boys. And also cheaper. heaven help our bank account if it turns out to be a girl.

no official due date (haven't been to the Dr. yet) but looks like late October.

kenneth hahn state park, culver city

also known as "the bee park" by the kids. the first time we went, there were 4 bee stings on 3 kids. it's the only place they don't ask to take off their shoes. the above photo is of "snake mountain" - named because I, in my parental sneakiness said one day; "Don't go up into that grass at the top where I can't see you. There might be snakes." although, there probably really ARE snakes there, in summer.

i wonder, if we move away from each other, will these kids ever forget? even though they were young, will those 4 years ever disappear? there is such a love here. honestly i didn't expect it. the boys are always so happy to see Mason. hey there, girl.
mighty.

oh so mighty.

connor is studying fossils in school right now. we took him to the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah, and he could hardly contain his excitement. He came home with a 50 million year old fish fossil, and also with this miniature hammer and pick. I think he spent 2 hours on snake mountain Wednesday, looking for bones.

note how deep in thought. note how dirty.

"Mom, Look! A bug!"

"Uh huh. Looks like a nymph of some kind. Probably will turn into a beetle, kinda like a ladybug."

"They like grass, right? If we feed it a bunch of grass then we can watch it turn into a beetle!"

"Ummm..." but then he was already running back toward his friends. Poor bug.

no bones. but some cool rocks.

Connor has also been studying how animals use camouflage to hide. they practice. some find it difficult to try to hide while also trying to pose for the camera.

we went to Utah last weekend for Mikey's wedding. See how happy he looks? awwwww.

Britney looks slightly less so..
Just kidding! They both looked REALLY happy all night long, and it was so much fun to see them and celebrate with them. look at all these cute married guys! (oh, wait, except for Adam. Sorry Adam)
i made Nan pose with this eagle - even though we were all totally freezing to death and i had no good reason. hey, it was a cool eagle.
then we toured Temple Square. The boys were very impressed by the architecture. and they were impressed by the cold.
this may be my favorite picture. ever.
and this one is a picture of a bum on the street..... Oh! I mean, of Craig, who is taking a picture of the Harveys.
I have more pictures to download from Craig's computer. The Lindsays, who we stayed with (thank you SO much you guys) took some pictures for us when we forgot our camera one day. They also spent the weekend trying to convince us to move back to Utah. I told them to try again someday when it's not snowing and 40 degrees in MARCH. Yikes!

We've all come home with varying degrees of sick; but for the most part we're doing good and once again I have to say that I was overwhelmed with how well behaved our boys were on those 12 and 13 hour drives. *sniff* They are so good!

Connor and Elle (she rode most of the way with us to Utah) were properly impressed when I insisted that they look at this cool landform or that herd of animals. And we were all impressed when Craig hit a patch of snow and managed to keep us on the road instead of going into the ditch like the other 8 cars we saw. What a stud.

Also the Nintendo DS is possibly the greatest invention known to mankind. Or at least, to traveling-family-kind.

over and out.

going to snowy Utah for a friend's wedding. will be back next week to celebrate SPRING!

critics have been harsh, even angry, in their reviews of this movie. I have not read one good review yet, actually. but I loved it. and the other people who I know, who have seen it, have loved it as well. sure, I wish it had been longer, so I could have seen more character development.

but I really loved the movie. the colors, costume design, and story were great; and lots of fun. I enjoyed all of the actors' performances, and laughed over and over again during the movie.

so go see it. rub those critics' faces in their own disgust.

we went to a baptism last night, and I wore the dress that Craig didn't-buy-me-for-Valentines'-Day. I got a few comments on it; mostly "wow, you look very...white."

thanks?

but afterward, during the refreshments, this little boy (I don't know how old Donnovan is. Less than 2, I think, but nearly) kept following me around and saying, "hi!", which was totally cute. Then his mom told me that when I had stood up to give the closing prayer, he had gasped and said, "Mom! A princess!"

I'm thinking, this one. Of course. Right? Okay, fine, probably not. Probably one of these:




It was entirely flattering and completely made my day. Then a few minutes later he decided to be brave and stood right by me, and then shouted something to his mom which she translated as, "Mom, look! I'm standing by the princess! And she's beautiful!"

I'm totally wearing that dress every day for the rest of my life.

naturally, the first thing one thinks when seeing fabric like this is, "hey, that's gonna make an awesome baby quilt!"

why yes, yes it is.

my shelf.

when I'm not staring at the bright screen of my laptop (which I do for insane amounts of time. my husband has threatened to cut me off. i'm begining to think it may be a good idea) this is my eye-level view at the computer desk. It's perfect, no? My husband, when he built this writing/crafting center for me, also set all my things on it, in the places he thought they should go. On the left is all of my writing resources: how-to's, inspirations, baby name book for character names. On the right are my writing pads, dictionaries, journals.

I love how it is set up, and there to remind me that I REALLY OUGHT TO BE WRITING RIGHT NOW, AND NOT ON THE BLOG.

*ahem*

and that little "bookend" in the middle? That would be the reason why I have to stay away from Trader Joe's at all costs. I'm not a big nut fan, but I'm not sure if I've ever met a candy that was more addictive than these. There's a lot of fat in those suckers. (but hardly any cholesterol, and lots of fiber, so they're actually kinda healthy, right?)

have some great projects that I'll be starting in the next few days. (no, not writing) I'll try to be al inspiring and show pictures and progress, but no guarantees.

My pretty bracelet, (on which they misspelled my name) and the band-aids I came home in. Oh yes, bandaids. I was all, "um... is that going to be enough?..." (sorry Erin, I tried to get gory pictures for you yesterday, but the gaping holes aren't gaping so much any more and it's not so impressive)

Here's the story: I went to Nanette's apartment to exercise with her. Fletcher was with me. As we walked out of the exercise room and into the elevator lobby of the building, there was a young woman there with her two dogs, trying to get them into the elevator.
1) I do not know what kind of dog it was. It was pretty, and looked a lot like that plastic thing in my earlier post.
The dogs were both a bit rowdy/stressed looking. I don't know if one had seen a squirrel outside and was hyped up, or if the loud buzz from the maintenance closet was bugging her, or what.
2) there was a man there, working on the water heaters or something, next to the elevators in this small room. The door was open, and it was noisy.
So the bigger dog, whose back was about at my knee, I think, sees Fletcher and starts going nuts. She's lunging at him and barking and straining at her leash. The owner looks down in shock and starts yelling at her (her name was Coco. I don't think I'll ever forget.) because it's obviously behavior that the owner is not used to.

And then the leash broke.

In two bounds she was there, aiming right for Fletcher's face. I had just enough time to grab him with my right arm and turn so that the dog hit my left side. She kinda ran into my leg, and then lunged up and sank her teeth into my lower arm, which was blocking Fletch.

Next, I think I made sure Fletcher and Nanette were okay, and then I looked up to see where the dog was. She had run to the other side of the lobby and was cowering there, against the door. Her owner was trying to get the leash back on. She (the owner) did not realize yet what happened.

But the maintenance guy had - since my arm was facing him. I glanced down and as soon as I saw the hole on top I resolutely looked away and refused to look back. I didnt' want to pass out on the floor, after all. He came out, saw that the dog was secure, and ran out for a first aid kit. (this man was heaven sent, I kid you not. I don't know how we would have coped without him. Thank You, Maintenance Guy!)

Then the owner saw. She was really upset, of course, and very apologetic. She said she'd take the dogs up, and then be right back.

Mantenance Guy comes back in, plops his stuff on the floor (in a spot where my blood has NOT dripped) and gets to work. I told him that I wasn't going to look at it so could he please tell me what it looked like so I could tell the doctor? He obliged. "Well, you've got two big holes; this one on top, and then another on the bottom of your arm that looks a little bigger, like it wiggled, or tore or something." He put iodine on them, and bandages and tape, and gave me a cold-pack.

By this time the Owner (I never got her name) was back and begging me to let her help me. But Nanette said she was on top of it, and M.Guy said to make sure to go to the ER. And then he looked up at the owner, (he was still crouched down by my arm), and with pity in his voice, he says, "You know, they'll have to report this, and then the police will probably take the dog." She nodded, and was barely able to choke out "I know" before the tears started flowing, and then I started to tear up, and then Nan hurried me into one elevator, and the owner got into the other, and as we stepped off on the first floor, I could still hear her crying, all the way up to the third.

This is getting long.

I called Craig at work, and Mike brought him up to Nan's, and we went to Cedar Sinai's ER and got in pretty fast, and they numbed me, and then cleaned out the holes (i will not describe this, as it made Craig make horrible faces and made me nearly pass out) and declared that they ought not to stitch it because if it got infected they didn't want to have sewn up an infection inside. The hospital sent a report to the police, and Dr. Hardy sent me home with antibiotics. And a handful of bandaids.

edited: craig emailed me the hospital picture - it's been reversed. I was bitten on the Left side, so this is backwards. That's nurse Jeremy on the other side of me. He was funny.

Which I refuse to ever use again, because OUCH!! That adhesive is KILLER! I have no hair, and not much skin left on my arm. This morning I ran to Rite Aid and bought some gauze that I could wrap around my arm. aaaahhhhh. So much better.

My muscles are still really sore, and the holes are still really goopy, and I have no idea how long it's supposed to take to heal. But I'm okay. And thank God, Fletcher is okay. He saw a golden retriever the next day and was all excited to pet it. So that's good. I'm glad.

I still feel really sad for the girl, though. I hate it that that happened, and I hate what the consequences are. But I know that it's probably the best thing. I'm just sad that she didn't do anything wrong, but in the end she will probably be the one that suffers the most from it. :(

craig still hasn't emailed me his picture from his computer! I'll try to put the gory story online tonight! tomorrow for sure! geez, here I thought this would be good enough for a few days!

yikes!

I. Am. Okay.