masterpiece theater

rhiannon got this great easel an art supplies for her birthday. this is her first masterpiece.

risky business

board games can be risky! the other night, while playing a friendly game of risk with the boys, i believe i hurt myself. the die were not rolling in my favor for the first half of the game. weather attacking or defending, it seemed i couldn't win. anyway, my luck began to turn. it started to look like norm was nearing complete defeat, and i saw my chance. i needed to take him out. well, the turn went horribly awry. he was defending every roll of the die. finally, i rolled 3 sixes. i was ecstatic- until norms 2 sixes beat me. i leapt out of my chair and shouted "*&#!#$*&@!" well, it hurt. and my throat became more painfull throughout the evening. two days later, i am still trying to recover my voice. maybe its a result of bad karma for shouting expletives over a silly board game.


(i did end up winning though)

are you on the list?

heroes tonight. what am i going to do for another hour while i wait?

the new "F" word

by that i mean fun. well, for the kids anyway. would toy companies please come up with less ooooey gooooey ways to have fun? the kids have been begging for this "floam". looked hazardous to me, so i said i wasn't going to buy it, but they could. rhiannon bought a floam critter making kit with her money from the tooth fairy. rhiannon. she doesn't like critters or oooey goooey stuff. when we opened the package, she was sooooo grossed out that i didnt think she was even going to go through with the project. well, after some cajoling, she did try it. the criiters are adorable, but what a mess! that floam is gooey and sticky, and oooey and icky. and i think i will have to spend the next 5 days cleaning up little tiny bits of styrofoam and goo.

other than a dimple in a cute little chin, what is better than a toothless grin?

were you terrified of losing your first tooth? i don't remember being scared at all. i remember being upset by the teasing of my aunts and uncles who intended to remove it for me- but i didn't rest until i had successfully removed all of my baby teeth. earlier this year, rhiannon had her first and second baby teeth removed by the dentist. although terrifying for me, she was not bothered in the least by the experience. so when her next tooth started to wiggle, then interfere with her eating and speaking, she was terrified of what would happen if she removed it herself. no amount of support and encouragement could get that tooth out. it has been hanging there by a thread for at least a month. she has worked very hard at keeping it in place. we have been very worried about the potential consequences of her leaving it there for so long. well, one of my worst fears as a mother became reality the other evening when rhiannon came running down the stairs screaming and with a mouthful of blood to boot. it seems her sister had accidentally kneed her in the mouth while they played. o.k., a secret part of me hoped she had knocked that tooth out. no such luck. she had embedded it in the gums farther. now, i could not let that tooth stay any longer. what if it began to heal that way? best to get it out immediately! rhiannon agreed and for two hours i tried to get close enough to pull it. i never even got to wiggle it! it's not exactly like i loved the idea of having to pull it, it totally creeped me out, but i am a mom and that means dealing with all kinds of things i never expected. after so long, i had no idea what to do. thank god for aunts and uncles with the intention of removing your teeth. my sister drove across town in the middle of the night to help rhiannon get her tooth out. and you know what- it was even easier than everyone had said. rhiannon cried for a second from seeing a tiny bit of blood, but then laughed and laughed at her fears. she was giddy, and sooooo adorable without that tooth. she called dad at work in the middle of the night to tell him the good news.

from rags to stiches

i neglected to mention our really great halloween costume party. i would post photos if i thought i could get away with it! the photo above is (from left to right): me, my little sister, and my twin sister. they both had great costumes. i won the adult costume contest. i believe it was due entirely to my clever handmade raggedy anne wig. well, i had a ton of red yarn left over, so on a whim i decided to take up knitting. yeah, funny. i had never knit before, but i thought- how hard can it be to make a scarf? impossible! apparently the weight of the yarn and the size of the needles have something to with the outcome. i was really just guessing at how to do it anyway. well, even multiple failed attempts didn't dissuade me, so i kept trying new yarns, new needles, and i even tried to follow some patterns (which i couldn't even understand). eventually, i discovered that i could use 25mm needles, and 3 or 4 fluffy fancy yarns at the same time, and create a beautiful scarf in about an hour. i was totally excited! in one weekend i made everyone i know a scarf for christmas. i am in love with the process. and now that i am beginning to understand it, i am ready to move on. i have a dozen knit projects in mind, so i bought "knitting for dummies", it promises to teach me how to read knit and crochet patterns. i doubt if i had room in my life for another hobby, but i am so glad i have discovered this one!