Twenty-nine! I can't believe it.

And, neither should you! I'm 34 today, but decided to throw a last minute party and pretend to be 29 again. I don't know how kids know it's your birthday, but at the stroke of midnight last night, Butters came to my room to deliver the news, "Mom, I was coughing and then I spit up all over the place." Well, it all went down hill fast: 3 pajama changes, 2 bed sheets, a constant battle for attention (one needs me and the other wants me) and 6 loads of laundry later and now here I am. Twenty-nine again.

About three in the morning last night, I was awake listening to the sound of snoring, a tummy grumbling and the rain falling. I remembered a time I had asked for my birthday to not have to change any diapers. That was the Target Parking Lot Incident of 2007 and I won't replay to you what happened, all I'll say is, that kids know when it's your birthday or mother's day or any other special day and that's when they test you the most!

Instead, I will remember the day before my birthday-a gathering with friends and window shopping in Snohomish-decked out in antiques for the holidays. I had temporarily lifted my "No Christmas References During My Birthday" Rule to allow my wonderful husband to serve cupcakes on a snowman plate and we had a great morning pretending it was early family Festivus opening all our gifts. And next year, I'll celebrate my half birthday during the summer solstice and really have some fun. Birthdays are still fun and cause for celebration, just not mine, today. :)

Snow Walk

"Let's take a walk, it's snowing out." We got bundled up and the snow ended! But, the ponds were frozen and we let the kids ice skate on some small frozen puddles. Everyone but the dog enjoyed it, dogs don't enjoy skidding. I was happy to keep the family warm in their hand knits, but I need to get started on family mittens.

I knitted her an adorable purple bog sweater and she refused to wear it. The lace February Baby sweater only fit her for 2 weeks. Lately, every time I'm knitting, she says, "For me? Hat for me?" So I gave in and made her a quick obnoxious pink hat.

She wears it all the time!!!! I also made one for Tiny Baby, her constant companion.

You can see some some sacrificed yarn in the background, around the door knob, it was a small price to pay to the toy goddesses for me to get some online shopping done! Plus, it's acrylic!

Butters Photo Shoot 5

This is Tiny Baby, Princess E's current favorite doll.
An X wing fighter and the space shuttle. Specifically arranged.

My messy mantle. I'm almost too embarrassed to post this. It's since been cleaned. I asked what he took a photo of, he said, "My leapfrog game." It's the green thing!

Catch Up!

Picture from the dreaded Chuck E Cheese birthday party. A 10 am party after I stayed out late to go see New Moon. This guy sits and eats every bite of cake!

She is up for anything. Seriously! She smiles so easily and is all about fun. Except when she on the floor screaming because she doesn't approve of the shoe choice!

She's also very expressive!

Unintended blog vacation, I'll catch you up on a few things. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the in-laws including a one night stay at a Shelton Casino with just DH and myself. We Festivus shopped for the kids (together! alone!), shopped the downtown stores in Olympia and had a blast on the slot machines. We were (okay I was) drunk by 6 pm! We didn't make it past midnight, but getting up at 5 am will do that to you.

It's cold here, in the teens at night and not above freezing during the day. The dog doesn't even like to go out. Last week, while the sun was out and it was warmer we made it to the zoo, but I didn't remember my camera. I only had the backpack, no stroller. Princess E ended up on my shoulders. It was fun, the kids were great. We rode the carousel, met up with friends, stopped at the park after. I was exhausted. DH asked the kids if they had fun, and Butters said, "No." I nearly died! What's the point, what am I doing all this for? I could just turn the TV on all day!

Getting ready for the next holiday and feeling the Christmas Craft Crunch. Time to decide what I have time for and what's too optimistic.

Did You See Me?

I was the knitter on the plane who brought three different knitting projects for a 1.5 hour flight, an MP3 player and no diaper bag! I could to the bathroom-BY MYSELF-and therefore stayed well hydrated. (Have you ever taken 2 small children into an airplane bathroom with you? It should be a Mom Olympics category!) I ate at child unfriendly restaurants-Tartine and Bittersweet. I went to Kabuki spa to relax and let go. I shopped at ImagiKnit, calmly. I had a rocking time visiting some amazing women (and one new amazing little boy) in San Francisco and Oakland. As you can tell, I went by myself!

I missed the kids and my husband, or at least I'm supposed to say that. DH took the kids down to his parents, therefore, it took 3 people to replace me (Just kidding, Dear :). The best part was not just the hot food and lack of responsibility but being my old self again, laughing and telling stories with some women whose lives I really needed to catch up on. It can be too easy sometimes for your world to shrink. Being back in my old life helped me expand a bit and breath again.

Painting and Coloring

This is what happens when your daughter watches you paint your nails! BTW, if you ever paint your nails black for Halloween, make sure you have polish remover first! I had black chipped nails for 2 weeks.

This is a photo of a picture Butters made which I am immensely proud of! He has not been interested in holding a pencil or really trying to color, but recently something clicked and now he's passed from scribbling to trying to make a picture that looks like something. Here is our family, you'll notice I have curly hair, daddy has black hair, the pets are there but the Princess is missing! The tall skinny things are trees, I love those!