it's happening

Titus has hit one of those stages where he learns to do a whole bunch of things all at once. The best one...sleeping all the way through the night. From 9-5 or 6 or 7. I'll take it. He's been consistent for a whole week. Simon and Felix, however, have taken over the "don't let the Ma sleep, even for a second" role. Nightmares are fun. Especially when you can share them with the whole family at 3 o'clock in the morning. Loudly.

I try to be patient. I remember having nightmares as a little kid.

I love his eye rubs. :) He's initiating peek-a-boo. I love it. He's also started giving kisses. You can hear them in the video I posted 2 posts back. He said "mama" in the car yesterday. He's said it before, but this time other people were around to hear it. He screams at his brothers if they take something from him. He screams when he wants more food.

He's going to crawl soon. :( It's so funny to watch him play. He'll be surrounded by toys and three minutes later have every single one of 'em pushed to just out of arms reach. He can get one leg bent around and up under him, but then he just falls flat on his face and wiggles to the closest toy. Soon. It's coming.

I love his little sleepy face.

And even his crying face.

Every single day, Simon says, "I just don't want Titus to grow up."

I reply, "It's happening..."

:)

I now have a quilt that I can be proud of. It's not perfect, but it's a bazillion times better than it was. I spent some time{a lot of time} stripping it back down to just the quilt top. I took off the binding and border, threw away the batting, vowing never to buy polyester again. I was much more patient this time and am so much happier with how it turned out.

The blocks are 8X4 inches. I started out wanting to do a bunch of 4X4 in squares, but it would've been cutting into the little scenes and I kinda liked the way the bigger rectangles came together. The new binding is so much prettier. Still not perfect, but it's better than it was. I'm glad I took the time to do it right.

I am now completely invested in this new hobby. My next project is already on the kitchen table. Remember how Sean tried his hand at bread making and broke my mixer? That resulted in a new fancy one. I'm trying to figure out a way I can get him to sew...I don't need a super fancy sewing machine, but mine sat in my parents garage for a bit{getting filthy} and I can't find the manual to figure out all the stitches and maintenance.

There's just one more hobby I want to attempt, crocheting.

Bombs:

Untitled from Chrissy Amport on Vimeo.

Zerberts:

Untitled from Chrissy Amport on Vimeo.

It's a good think that top child is so cute. He wasn't quite the comedian at 3:30 this morning. It's just not destined that I sleep, ever. The baby slept slept for two nights. It's about dang time.

I was so cushie under my new quilt{on the couch, far away from the children, no less} that it took me a moment to come to at Simon's request. He was just standing there, tapping on my arm, "I can't sleep." And?

Instead of having him wake up the other two getting back into his bed{because the child does nothing quietly}, I let him stay on the couch with me. Just as I drifted back off, "What was that? Mommy? What was that?" It was the flippin' ice maker. At that point, I made him go back upstairs, threatening him along the way that if he woke up the other two, I was making him a pallet in the garage. "Not a word, Simon."

Again, I was just drifting back off and Simon starts screaming at the top of his lungs, "There's something in my bed!" Thinking this was the tarantula I've been anticipating since the scorpion, I decided to check. Heck, Felix was up by then. As I was atop Simon's bunk, stripping the blankets, he decides to clarify, "It was a hand! Creeping up the side!" huff

Felix went back to bed like a champ. Simon, not so much. He assures me that tonight will be different. We'll see.

Someday my sleep will come. For now, I'll just call Sean at work in the middle of the night to rant about his children and make sure to blog about it. I want evidence. I get parents of teenagers now. Just wait, boys. Mama's gonna be handing out Saturday morning chores amidst your visions of sugar plums. I can't wait.

quilting

I just finished my first utter failure of a sewing project. If I didn't love the fabric so much, I would rip it to shreds, just out of pure frustration. It started out so pretty. All these years I just thought my Grandma was a nutcase. Turns out, each and every little cut does need to be perfect, or "just so." The quilt top actually was very straight and orderly and all lined up, it's the back that killed me. And then the binding. And then the machine sewing of the binding instead of doing it by hand because I'm lazy and just wanted to be done with the stupid thing.

I also thought the batting seemed a bit thick. It got thicker in the dryer.

I've been reading tutorials online. I know I can do it. I can't decide if I want to just chalk this one up to my first learning experience or rip it back down to the top and re-do the back and binding.

I know some of you are quilters. What got you past the first one? Did you totally botch it or did you get it right the first time?

Oh yeah, and a Simon funny. We were walking home from school today and he says, "And you know what? Annabelle had something written in her diary about me...but you might not want to hear what it is. {not even giving me time to respond} It's L-O-V-E." he says with dramatic tones and raised eyebrows as if he's not sure if he should be mad or happy. The playground drama has begun. Apparently, a mutual friend is going to have a "speak" with her at recess on Monday.

Oh man. After seven years, with the scrapbooking and the quilting, the mini-van and the flippin' plastic baby seat on the back of my cheapest-on-the-rack, Walmart "mountain bike"...it has happened.

I am one pot roast away from mom jeans.

7 months

:) click to see entire picture. I'm too lazy to go fix it.

slow down, Grasshopper

I suggested that this guy call his Grandpa last night, "Wish him a Happy Veteran's Day from one Vet to another." "I'm not a Veteran. What have I done to deserve anyone's thanks?"

We were watching a show about Medal of Honor medics in Vietnam on the Military Channel{didn't even know there was such a channel}. Those were some hardcore medics! These guys were pulling themselves across rice paddies with their legs just blown off to care for their comrades. One guy threw himself on top of a grenade{& no, Nidal, it is not the same thing as jihad!}to keep if from killing a group of his patients.

Anyways, so Sean was talking about the fact that he hasn't done anything yet. He says he signed up to make a difference. To feel like he's doing something for this country and so far, all he's doing is wiping civilian butts, just like always. The only difference now, he says, is that he puts on camo to do it.

This man has to have his mind engaged at all times. Otherwise, he's bored with life. The hospital he's at, the "best" the AF has to offer, is not like any place he's ever worked. The injuries aren't severe. A majority of the patients aren't military, and he hasn't had a chance to use his skills.

All I could say is, "You have done something, you signed up." I don't know how many men actually sign up to serve their country, but I'm guessing less than more. He will get his chance. I wish he wasn't so anxious.

In other news, have you guys been watching the news? It's astounding to watch the mainstream media bend over backwards not to call the terrorist a terrorist. What else can you call someone that kills 14 people? Who went to the same mosque as two of the 9/11 terrorists? Who has been contacting Al Qaeda for a year? Who shouts praises to Allah as he jumps on a table and starts shooting people? Who's been on the CIA's radar for who knows how long? What would you call someone like that?

A lot of people dropped the ball and a bunch of people had to die for it. It's just so sad that it was preventable. More people are concerned with being PC than with preventing travesties.

In other, happier news, I just finished my first quilt top. It is wonderful. I don't really know where to go from here, with the batting and the back and sandwiching it all together, but I'll figure it out. My Grandma will be happy. She taught me to quilt years and year ago, but I never made it past a horribly ugly wall hanging. Now, I've got it. The bug. I go to the fabric store just to walk the aisles. It's kinda like giant, soft scrapbook paper, so it was only a matter of time. I'll post pictures when it's all done. :)

Thanks.

Last night I was asking Simon what he learned about Veteran's Day at school. Shockingly, not much. As I listed all the soldiers that we know personally, it stopped me for a minute how many there are, just in my life.

My Dad.
My brother.
My brother in law was in for a time.
Sean's Dad served.
Sean's Grandpa.
Helena's brothers.
My cousin's husband.
Simon's teachers husband.
One of my best friends in high school's husband is in Afghanistan right now.
Two other high school friends have little brothers in the service.
Every day there are more. Everybody we meet is a soldier, just about.

The day is coming. My own soldier will be there soon. We still don't know when, but it's coming. We've accepted it. We knew it was coming when we started this gig, but it still sucks. When I talked to my friend the day after her husband left, it brought a whole new reality to it. People who aren't in it, don't seem to understand. Someone told her, "This is what he signed up for," as if she doesn't have a right to be sad that her husband is being shipped off for seven months to an incredibly dangerous place. People like that make me sick. People like that make me wish there was a draft so they could understand. Fortunately, there are those willing so her loved one doesn't have to go. People willing to face the giants and fight the battles to keep us safe.

Today, I am thankful. I am grateful.

And I am praying that it's all over soon.

sharing

I'm sure hanging things on walls isn't a big deal to anyone else in the world, but it's a pretty big deal to me. Each little hole in the wall is like a tiny commitment to staying put.

I'm always envious of those people who find awesome things at Goodwill. There is a great Salvation Army just around the corner from me. I've tried many a time to score some hidden treasure there. I walk in with a positive attitude, hoping the junk gods will smile upon me and I always walk out disappointed. One day, I went in and did the giddy laugh over this giant card catalog, Pottery Barn looking massive piece of furniture. I would have bought a burro to get the thing home. Unfortunately, it had a SOLD sign on it. The blue desk was my consolation prize.

In reality, everything on the wall is neurotically straight. I'm not sure when I became so anal about things being level, but I suspect it's one of those things that Sean brought into our marriage that has since rubbed off on me. Here it is, one less blank wall in our house: Another little thing. Titus is outgrowing this shirt. It still has length on the sleeves, but his little belly is starting to hang out the bottom. :) I took the first picture in September. It's straight out of the camera, no editting. The second picture I took today. It is also uneditted, but I used my speedlight. What a blessed little tool. Same kid, same room, same time of day. He's trimmed down some. Hm.

That's about it. Sean just started nights, so I imagine my blogging will pick up. Sean does so much around here, especially when it comes to dinner and bedtime with the kiddos. I am not looking forward to bath/bedtime X3. :/