My Baby is Nine

I'm a bit late with this - her birthday was a week ago - but my little girl is in the last year of single-digit ages. I'd planned to scan a picture of her when she was about two to show how much she's grown but the scan turned out all psychedellic and not exactly what I wanted, so I just have a current picture. She did her hair all by herself, too. Isn't she pretty? Before I know it she'll be all grown up. I hope she spends a little time right now enjoying being a kid - there's plenty of time for drama later in life.

I don't know about you, but I think this early cold weather is for the birds. Trick or treating will be no fun at all with a big coat and all the accessories. At least I have some nice warm socks to keep my toes from freezing!

Certified

Guess what! I'm now officially certified as a paraprofessional - a teacher's aide! This is a rather big deal for mee. See, I didn't finish college or beauty school. I was discharged from Air Force basic training. Heck, I'm divorced! Sensing a theme here? I'm not much of a finisher. I was encouraged to be a teacher's aide by my friends Cheley and Ruth. The crazy part is that I didn't take a class and barely studied. I passed - highly - on my own brain alone. I am now able to work with other people's children and help them learn. Of course, now I have to wait for an opening and apply for it, but I'm a step closer than I was!

Stop Scaring the Kids!

Apparently this year at school the teachers have decided to essentially lead the kids to believe that the swine flu is out to kill them. I think that the kids should be told to wash their hands and not cough in each others' faces to avoid spreading all germs rather than stress flu shots and hand sanitizer. I spent an evening trying to convince the boy child that he wasn't going to die. He was very upset that he had a headache and was convinced that the swine flu was killing him. I keep telling them that plenty of people have survived this flu, just like people survive all flus. Being a passive person I'd rather some other parents call the school and complain - but I suppose it's time to step up to the mommy plate and try to score a run in sanity. Heh - I don't exactly have much experience with sanity so it's probably going to be hard on my brain.
In other news, not much is going on. I'm remaking my monthly meal schedule to allow for new things and less frozen pizza - we love pizza but it's become my go-to meal more often than not. Summer food is hard for me for some reason. I'm much better making cold-weather comfort food - chili, meatloaf, lasagna, things like that.
I'm on the lookout for some comfortable yet cool steampunky pants. If anyone finds some, please let me know - retail or a sewing pattern. Thanks!

New Family Member and Other News

Happy September, my friends! Crappy August is finally over - thank goodness! The kids are in school, the House Cup is starting a new term, and I'm back to days of quiet in which to get my work done.

The little guy in the picture is Bob. Khloe found him in the yard and has adopted him. He's got a nice little home with dirt to dig in, a teacup of water, and crickets for snacks. Why did she name him Bob? Apparently he reminds her of me. I'm cool with that - I've been compared to worse in my days! Bob is a cute little guy - he sits on the pile of dirt and watches people. He sat waiting for Khloe last weekend - she was with her dad - and didn't snuggle down in his hole until she came home. She's very attached to him and plays with him alot. Unfortunately she now believes that she's responsible enough for a fuzzy rodent-type pet. Sigh.

Last month was unusually cool - I drained the pool because it just wasn't swimming weather. I got alot of knitting done. We had a knitalong in the House Cup for the Ice Queen pattern from knitty - a beautiful beaded lace cowl that's had my eye for the past year. I dyed some merino-silk laceweight from Knit Picks to make it. My dye job is perfect - rick, jewely blue with the shine from the silk and depth in the wool. GazeboGal, my friend and hero, sent me some gorgeous bronze beads. My new cowl is perfectly Ravenclaw! I finished my Ravenclap, too - the huge blue and silver clapotis that was supposed to be done for the movie release but didn't quite get there. It's great. I have some of the second skein left so I've been thinking about knitting something small with it and dyeing it dark red so the stripes will be red and violet. I also squeezed in a couple of pairs of socks for the Summer of Socks. The Horcrux pattern was so easy and fast to make. The zigzags don't show as much on mine as they do on others I've seen but they'llbe hidden by jeans so it doesn't matter. They're knit in Socks that Rock - I love the fabric that STR makes when knit up. It's nice and solid and squishy. The Lenore pattern was fun. The cuff is a cool diamond pattern and then the eyelets down the foot look nice. I made them in Handgefaerbt - my favorite sock yarn. I have enough left from the skein for another pair of socks.

Obviously I still can't get the pictures where they need to be. Please, if you can help me with my lacking computer skills, come over and show me. I'll make cookies! We've been having alot of issues with this computer lately. Maybe I have worn it out.

I don't know how many of you watch pro wrestling. On Monday nights there's now a guest host who runs the matches and such. I want to do it! Of course, being surrounded by all of the eye candy would probably make me speechless, but it would be fun to try. Too bad the Rock wouldn't be there - he's a bronzed nugget of man candy with humor and great teeth - and y'all know it! Mrow, baby!

Yesterday I discovered a show on the History Channel called Clash of the Gods - it's about the characters in Greek mythology. I've been interested in mythology since junior high school. But - the show reminded me that I still haven't read the final Percy Jackson book! Don't yell at me, Holly, I know I'm slacking! So, I got it out and read until midnight last night and am ready to get on it again this morning. Actually, I want to read all of them again. I love the series. It's really a fun way to mix the old and modern. I thought about sending the first book with the swap that I'm in - but I'm going to be selfish and keep it here in case boy child wants to start it. (he's rather interested in mythology, too!)

Yes, I'm in a swap! I'm excited, too. It's in the Battlestar Galactica group that I'm in. The idea is to send your partner something from stash! My partner likes books, too, so I've got a book from my library for her and I'm knitting a little something for her. I need to ask her about colors - she likes red and wouldn't you just know that there's really no red in my stash! Now, if she was a purple person I'd have no troubles at all!

In the next few days I plan to do a bit of redecorating the blog. Don't be surprised if things look different! I'm compiling some new links and deciding what can be gotten rid of. I may find some new wallpaper, too.

Afternoon at the Park

There's a huge park in our town that has lots of lakes, wildlife, and walking paths. Since Eric is on vacation this week we decided to take the kids there to feed the fish and geese and let them play on the playground - and hopefully tire them out so they won't stay up all night again. It was a warm day but the park is very open so there was a really nice breeze. We had a really nice time. Unfortunately, the girls were up all night again. Oh, well.

Doctor Bobbilicious

I was listening to a Dr Who podcast yesterday and one of the hosts is a prolific Who scarf knitter - she can make one in two weeks. Now, for those of you who don't know, a Dr Who scarf is about 18 feet long and is a bunch of colors in a certain order depending on which season the knitter is recreating. It's huge. So, as I listened and cleaned the lonely, unused pool, I decided to make my own scarf - but not in the colors of the show - brown and golds and such that don't attract me at all. I'm going to pick a scheme from one of the seasons and use my signature colors - the ones that make my friends say "Oh, that's a color Bobbi would like" and make myself a Doctor Bobbilicious scarf. Besides, I have some things in common with the doctor - not the time travel ability, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately - I can see myself travelling back and getting wasted on moonshine with my grandpa or something equally inappropriate (although I'd probably get to know him!) I, like the Doctor, have a constant stream of thoughts and conversations in my head - no, I don't need medicated! I also can fix the things that need fixed, either with my unsonic screwdriver or some glue from my collection. I sometimes talk too much and too fast and love bananas. I would love to be his companion even though he seems to be attracted to Gryffindors even though he's clearly a Ravenclaw. So anyway I'm going to start working on a scarf. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.
I've been listening to Cast On again, now that I can forward through the music, and have been thinking about her series "Make Do and Mend". She's been inspired by WW2 ads for making do when times are tough. Well, things have gotten a bit, well, tight around here lately. I have alot of skills (not to brag, but I do) that I should really be using to stretch everything - clothes, meals, etc. I know I'll be making some Christmas gifts - because even though the kids all want new fancy-schmancy cell phones they're not getting them. No laptops, either. I told them that they're all getting hats and socks! Poor Jake had the most horrified look on his face but said he believes me. Smart boy. I've been working hard on my Amazon problem and doing well, I must say. I need to save my honey some money because I tend to spoil myself a bit too much and he's really not too happy with me about it. (the pouty puppy face has no effect at all on him - I've tried!)
It's almost time for the kids to go back to school. My boy will be in middle school this year. Tomorrow is orientation. I'll walk around the building with him and check out his locker and be sad that the little chubby baby is so big now as all moms probably do. It's going to be fun. Getting us all up and ready to go, however, well, that won't be fun at all!

Hot Locks and the Half-Blood Prince

That's me- the back of my head with my new purple hair. The sunlight makes it a bit lighter but you can still see it. I like my hair. I spent years fighting it - always crying becuse it's not straight and I couldn't style it like everyone else did. When I was poor and married I just let it grow - and when I was expecting the kids it was to my waist. I had more hair than I ever imagined. People used to look at me - I told myself all the time it's the hair and not the crappy old car or the look of despiration I always wore. Pride in my hair kind of stuck. I got alot of grays while I was married so I have to color it alot and that's where the purple comes in - my roots started to show and I wanted something a bit more fun than brown. I don't care if people look at me now - I still tell myself it's the hair and not the chatty grubby kids I always seem to have around me. Of course, Khloe is getting looked at, too. Those of you who know hew know that she's very beautiful with gorgeous eyes. I tell her that's why people look but she thinks people are making fun of her. I'll keep trying to convince her otherwise and someday maybe she'll believe me.

Yesterday the kids and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie.Kerry and I have read the book and had told Khloe about alot of it. She's not as much of a HP fan as I would like but she came with us - of course, I agreed to take her to see Ice Age 3 as a bribe. About halfway through the movie she got interested and asked questions. I told her that apparating is like how Doctor Who travels in the Tardis - disappears and reappears. Then, of course, she asked if the vanishing cabinets were bigger on the inside. I hugged her with pride and told her no, they're just boxes. And then the end came - and she cried and cried - all the way home. People outside the theater gave us sympathetic looks. I tried to explain it all to her - why Snape did it and that Dumbledore was sick but she was too upset. We'll talk about it again and I'll help her understand why her favorite person died. Jenny had it tougher - her daughter is a huge Snape fan and was very upset about it from the other side - why would her favorite person do that? Ah, kids. At least my baby girl is on the path of sci-fi geekdom already. Momma's so proud!

In my quest to find the perfect perfume oil I have found a Fragrance Goddess. Her etsy shop is Velvet Moon Bathery - I'll link her, don't worry. I got several samples from her and they're magnificent - even the ones I don't like as much are still really good. Her scents are smooth and warm and last for hours - they're not loud or too strong and don't clear the room like some I've tried. I will share my samples with anyone who asks - yes, mom, I'll give you a couple, don't worry. If you order from her you can tell her I sent you - I won't get a discount but I'd like for her to know that I'm talking about her.

My boy will be starting middle school this fall. He's getting so big. I have the mom thing of thinking about him as a baby still, taking his first steps and running around the house with a big bouncy ball wanting to play with the big boys walking down the street. We got the letter about fifth grade orientation and registration and when he can try out his locker combination and check out the school. I'm so nervous and excited for him. Are all moms like this? Does the excitement ever wear off? I hope not - it's keeping me from sinking into a middle aged rut of boredom.

I've been rewatching Battlestar Galactica. Have you seen it? It's really a great show. I was invited to join a kal group on ravelry and it's been fun discussing the characters with other fans. I was selected to be in the Galactica crew. My ship colors are blue and gray - same as Ravenclaw! I need some dark blue cotton for some dishcloths - the assignment is to make dishcloths with the logo on them. I plan to make them as a gift for someone - another sci-fi geek who I admire. I also joined the Team Galactica for Tour de Fleece even though it's almost over.

I think that's about it. I need to turn in some assignments for the House Cup and get busy on my OWL. Until later, my friends!