Mother Daughter Moments

On the list of things to do while in Montana there was "go antiquing" this was put off until the last day, which happened to be the day we were snowed in. I was pretty sad about it especially since there were a few things in particular I wanted to look for.

Today, I took Boba Fett's cello in to have some adjustments and found myself on Main Street in Hillsboro. There are at least 4 antique stores. Nutmeg and I popped into one and I watched as she flitted from case to case pointing out items that appealed to a 3 year old. She pointed out one of the prettiest sets of China I have ever seen, white with a fat pink band and silver flowers.

I am looking forward to more antiquing trips with my daughter. Maybe Nutmeg growing up isn't SO bad.

We saw a sewing bird only $395!

A timely post...

Since I don't know where to start in a Christmas Review I will just dive right in with gifts that I made. I know it is 3 weeks after Christmas but after all that crafting I needed some time to recoup.

A Lush and Lacy in Knit Picks Swish Superwash Bordeaux for The Lovely Mrs. Moss. I am modeling it so it doesn't fit just right.
An Extreme robe for Mr. Moss. He had specifications for this robe and I learned it is hard to find good terry cloth - so I went to bed bath and beyond and purchased bath sheets and towels and made it out of that. I had my friend Paula embroider "Extreme" on the lapel.
A Flying W Weezer hat for Moose but he doesn't like it. Commander C however loves it and Boba Fett has requested one as well.
For my Knitting Friends I made Mystery Yarn balls. You buy a skein of Yarn and wrap it around fun knitting accessories so when the ball is unwound there are surprises unwrapped every so often.

I made stitch markers out of beads and buttons. Fixed a Christmas colored stitch marker on the ball and tied with a pretty ribbon.

Commander C designed this sweater and I knit it. He has worn it at least 10 days since Christmas. I am unhappy with the ladder effect on the saddle shoulders but other wise VERY happy. Knit in Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Black and Red Pepper on size 8 needles. Elizabeth Zimmerman saddle shoulder yoke instructions.

Boba Fett requested a Luigi sweater. Oy! What a pain. I didn't know intarsia was SO difficut.

I had to knit the sweater twice once in the round and once in flat pieces. Did the intarsia twice,once in the round and once in flat pieces then scrapped it and did duplicate stitch which is where you kind if embroider over the stockingette to make it look like it is knit. Then I knit the neck not once, ore twice but three times, and it still flips out.Then it turned out that I had placed Luigi too low so he is on the belly rather than the chest. I love the 1 up mushroom on the sleeve!The picture isn't so hot because I haven't blocked it and the yarn has been knit and re-knit and wound around other colors so there are fuzzies everywhere. Knit in Knit Picks Swish Superwash Black, Dublin, and Bare on size 8 needles.

Modern Vintage hankies for my mom. I got a bee in my bonnet the day before we left for Montana and sewed some of these up out of fabrics from my stash.
I made several family history tree picture charms for my dad and Aunt Janie.

I rounded my siblings up to sing a song for my dad. I have video but I haven't watched it yet and I am afraid because it was early and our voices were scratchy.

I think that is all I MADE but not nearly all I gave.

Defining Grade School Memories

When I think back on my school days at good old F.M.E. (Fair-Mont-Egan School K-8) there are some memories that I always remember about certain events and people.

1st grade - Luke Kenall's 7 older brothers daring me to kiss Luke and I chased him around the school and did.
Also concerning Luke, he was a great artist and I gave up thinking I was good at art because I didn't draw like he did. I regret that.

Second grade - There was a question "What is the longest river in the world?" It was a contest to see who could guess it and then you won. Well I kept writing "Mississippi" over and over again - I kept thinking it was wrong because I was misspelling it. The correct answer is" The Nile."

Timmy Erfle fell off the slide at recess one winter. Every year after that the slide was closed in the winter. Also when Timmy came back to school he wore glasses - totally unrelated I assume but I still threaten my kids with that story when they are on good old fashioned dangerous playground equipment.
3rd grade - I was standing near a chart with each student's name written on it. Suddenly the etymology of Sommer Whitehead's last name hit me and I said aloud "Whitehead - it's like a white head." Sommer was right next to me and did not find it interesting at all - I think she thought I was being mean. I have always been really embarassed about that.

First day of 4th grade- Mr. Benke, the new principle, tells us that our favorite teacher Mrs. Javorka has been fired. I, at the tender age of 8 realize that this was a poor choice of words and it was not very diplomatic of him to say "fired." He should have said she "Will not be teaching here anymore," or the more likely scenario "She decided to stay home and take care of her new baby." Since those fateful introductory words there was a seed of contempt for Mr. Benke (who also liked to drink orange juice and eat tootsie rolls together as a child) planted deep in my heart.

One year we got together and raised money to save and acre of the rainforest by buying it. I wonder about that acre, where is it, can we go hang out there? Is it still "safe." Was it all a scam to wheedle money out of middle school kids?

In the locker room in 6th or 7th grade and Allison Quigley had a long scar or scab on her shin and we learned she had gotten it while shaving - that still makes me weak.

The time Kurt and Sabin collided while playing foot ball and soemone's braces went through their lip and the other guy's cheek.

And the penultimate defining moment of my F.M.E experience was when I was on the basketball team. Both years. Why was I allowed on the basket ball team????
There are many horrible memories from Basketball like the over and back violation - who knew that was even a rule?
I don't recall if I ever scored a point in any game in either season.

So, one game I had a free throw (I could not make a free throw if my child's life depended on it) and Tom Kurdy whose joy in life was to torment and make fun of me shouted from the stands - "Do a granny shot!" I knew I might actually have a better chance of making a basket with a granny shot. So I did it. It was not a point. Everyone asked why I did it. Bad decision.

And while we are on the topic of Tom Kurdy- he was so mean to me; and one blessed Christmas season he and his perfect complexion got a big red zit on the end of his nose.
I was not a cruel kid and I never teased people but I am sure God sent this zit just for me and to give Tom some of his own medicine. So I got people in the class to sing Tommy the Red-Nosed Reindeer to him all the time. Revenge was sweet.

The Lovely Mrs Moss

This is The Lovely Mrs Moss. She is married to my brother Mr. Moss, and today is her birthday!
The Lovely Mrs Moss stayed married to my brother even though he forgot to bring his passport on their honeymoon and they missed their flight.
The lovely Mrs. Moss wasn't born into a family with any sisters but she sure married into one.
We love her just like a sister except we don't fight with her, she is too nice.
The Lovely Mrs Moss likes dogs.
The Lovely Mrs Moss like to go fishing and camping and such with Mr Moss and her Dad. The Lovely Mrs Moss is a true Montana girl.

The Lovely Mrs Moss is musical. She plays the violin and piano and composes music. For Christmas she composed a song for a string quartet as a gift to me.

The Lovely Mrs Moss has many friend but she and her mom are totally BFF.
The Lovely Mrs Moss is lovely as you can see. Look at that beautiful dark hair and pretty eyes.

The Lovely Mrs Moss says that she is not crafty, we don't believe it for a minute and we are teaching her how to be a crafter.
Mr Moss bought her a vintage sewing machine for Christmas and we are teaching her how to sew. It is a little difficult to arrange sewing lessons when she is in Arizona and the rest of us are not. If you are in the Mesa area and would like to help The Lovely Mrs Moss learn to sew please contact Samurai Mom.

The Lovely Mrs Moss loves Audrey Hepburn and nobody can fault her for that, it also proves that she has good taste.
The Lovely Mrs Moss took a trip to Italy with the Honors Society in High School. She got to go because she was so smart. The Lovely Mrs Moss is a patriot just like me.

The Lovely Mrs. Moss works very hard on Mr Moss' business endeavors.
Nutmeg loves The Lovely Mrs Moss. This picture is before she was her favorite.

I have been informed that The Lovely Mrs Moss wants to have SIX BOYS. I find this very ill advised and I hope that she has not cursed herself. I am telling her now, five boys and a girl is acceptable, but you need to have the girl first because I need nieces and I need them soon!
We Love You. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

I really do adore children

Just in case the previous post made you think otherwise, I really do love my kids every day. Even when they are three and four I wouldn't trade them for a newborn of five year old.

Samurai Mom's Child Development: Wherein I scare you about the dark ages of Childhood. If you can make it to 5 years you might survive.

I have shall now layout the different stages of child development and my feelings thereon;

Newborn- 2 months
Best age ever, they just sleep, nurse and pee and you can just hold them, love them and kiss them. Poop does not stink.

3-4 months - this age is ho-hum. They are still adorable babies that sleep on you but they need a little more activity and they are a little blobby. By blobby I mean, they can't sit up yet, they are rather oval shaped. It is impossible to get a cute picture at this age. This is a fantastic age to put the baby on your back and go on walks. They smile now. Poop still does not stink.

5-8 months - my favorite baby age after newborn. These babies are sitting up and interacting with you, they are chubby and kissable and munchable. Hugging these babies is divine. They love mom and fun faces and play with anything you give them. They light up when you walk in the room and flap their arms like they are trying to get to you. Laughing, baby laughs priceless..

9-12 months - these are ok times but baby doesn't look so babyish anymore. Eating solid foods now. They are crawling, cruising and thinking about walking. They go through potty pauses like crazy and you are so busy picking things up and keeping them out of trouble you are exhausted. Poop starts stinking but hopefully they are fairly reliable on the potty now.

12-13 months - learning to walk OY! And you have that lovely heartbreaking milestone - baby's first birthday. Stock up on the chocolate. Church is impossible, you spend the whole time shhh-ing baby and hanging in the hall.

14 months- I don't know why but I am always tempted to stop nursing around 14 months. I think they start biting then.

15-18 months - Church is really impossible. But in the end - you finally get to put them in nursery.

18 months to 2 years- Depending on the child you know spend all your time in nursery trying to sneak away from your baby or feeling a little bit sad that they don't seem to need you anymore. Talking now or not. Sign language is awesome at this stage you can know what they want and avoid tantrums and learn what they are thinking about. If you have a super EC kid like Nutmeg potty accidents are almost done!

2 years - Who came up with the terrible two's? Two is not terrible, THREE is terrible. (more on three later) I like to call them the terrific two's. They are so curious, settling into their personalities, fully interacting and developing relationships with people, discovering pretend play. Two year olds like picking up and "helping."Two is awesome. Sure there is some stubbornness, you can't distract them just by waving a cool toy in front of their eyes anymore. They do not play well with others, but they can take naps still. They are more work but I think the good outweighs the bad in the Terrific Two's.

3 years - Three is really tough naps are impossible, they had a full vocabulary and aren't afraid to use it. Three year olds want to you entertain them all the time. Like, full on interaction. Three year olds want to "help" when you don't want them to and won't help when you want them to. They can open doors and take off their clothes but not put them on. They think they can do anything but they can't. Inexcusable tantrums begin at three. Three is also loud. They may or may not play well with other kids. My three year old is also constantly hungry. Three can not be reasoned with. Three year old are little sponges - sponges that suck you dry and fill you with guilt. Oh and the questions begin at three.

4 years- I try to block out four. It is that bad, you still have the challenges of three, non stop questions, thinking they are big kids, demanding attention, can't put on their clothes very well. But you have the added challenge of you can barely pick them up, they are even more stubborn than before and above all they think they can reason with you but you can not reason with them. They start being picky about food. Four year olds can not, no, will not do chores and they WILL whine endlessly about them.

5 years - Five is nice. At five they can get themselves dressed even if it is in questionable taste. They are into dress up but not in an annoying way. They understand TIME, they can get some food by themselves. They are really curious about reading and learning. Sometimes five year olds do chores without complaining but by this time you have pretty much given up on chores and make the older kids do the chores or do it by yourself.
Five year olds, while not big kids yet, can play with the big kids for relatively long periods of time. Five is, to quote Laura Dominguez "Super good."
If you are the kind that like to deliver your children into the hands of the socialist humanists this is now the time to begin the brainwashing and get your self 3-6 hours of kid free time a day paid for by the taxpayer. Either way, five is good.

I don't think I have enough experience with the older ages. I can say though that 8 is really nice, Commander C can finally do chores and he is really nice to be around - except when he isn't.

That's a Crock Pot of Deliciousness!

The Lovely Mrs. Moss and Mr. Moss gave me a Crock Pot for Christmas. It has a removable crock. that's all I have to say about that. No more boiling water in the crock pot to clean it, no sir-ee. Dishwasher baby.

Also, while in Montana I was reading the Daily Interlake (which is a blog post in itself that I will relate one day remind me of the words "Law Enforcement Roundup) and saw a mini article about crock pots and this book that has recipes with out cans of cream o' something soup. I put it on hold at the library and picked it up yesterday. Last night I read the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slow Cooker Cooking and picked out a few recipes.

Today I made Chicken Parprikash pg 195 (in the new pot) and Classic Creole Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce sans pecans pg 301 (in the old small pot.) I recommend using boneless chicken in the crock pot, we found that the chicken legs fell apart and we didn't know if each spoonful was full of delicious chicken and vegetables or cartilage and bones.

They both earned 4 thumbs up with Moose being the only dissenter but he doesn't like anything that does not involve processed cheese or steak so his objections were thrown out.

The book gets 5 out of 7 thimbles. It is easy to read and flip through but some of the recipes make me wonder why I am using a crock pot if I am doing ALL this prep or why am I using a crock pot if I am using all these dishes. See, for me Crock pots are about easy and minimal dishes.

And then Mommy Bee posted a link to A YEAR OF CROCKPOTTING and I learned of Stephanie who cooked in her crock pot everyday in 2008, I can't decide if I admire her, am jealous of her or afraid of her. Either way she certainly is a gal with follow through.

The Blubbery Truth About Samurai Mom

After watching the latest week of Martha on Tivo I was sufficiently brainwashed to sign up for the Body and Soul Challenge over at Wholeliving.com.
I knew things were fishy when the first "wellness tool" was "Body Mass Index"
I have issues with BMI. I will say it straight out: according to BMI and our government Samurai Mom is obese. Yep, obese. Obesity, that disease sweeping the nation fuelled by Twinkies and coke, that obese.
****Which makes me wonder if the gov't says I am obese and I am not how many other people is that true of, and is obesity really the epidemic they claim it is? ***
Samurai Mom is not only in the obese category but well in the middle of the obese slot. The funny thing is my goal weight is in the overweight category. The skinniest I have ever been back in 1999, working on my feet all summer and then having not eaten for several months from morning sickness, back when my hip bones stuck out and I found it uncomfortable to sleep because my bones were poking me, that weight is also overweight.

If you have seen me (and the pictures online have not been doctored in anyway) you know that I am not obese. There are a couple of pounds around the middle that didn't fall off after the last baby but otherwise I feel pretty good about my weight.

Also The Body and Soul Challenge Wellness Tool "Nutritional Needs" says that I should eat 1632 calories a day. I about fell off my chair laughing. Apparently I am "squash shaped" I don't know what that means but I am thinking it is better than the apple and pear shapes.

I have posted 2 pictures one of Samurai Mom overweight and one of Samurai Mom as obese. I think I will work my way into that tiny t-shirt my own way.

Night Time is the Right Time

Monday, after grocery shopping I decided to head over to Sushi Town for some craving fulfilling. I walked in 1/2 hour before they closed. I figured I would be the last person to arrive. No, the door kept opening. Each arrival was one person just like me. They were all women.

Maybe it is something about late night and Sushi. I found it curious.

The worst of 2008 and 2009

Words from 2008 that I am glad to say goodbye to:
Staycation
Bailout
TARP
Hope

Words from 2009 that I am already sick of
Economic times
Stimulus package
Obama
Franken

P.S. I am sick of that poster too.

Quite A Lot of Attitude in a Deceptively Demure Package

It is hard to explain, the need to have a daughter;

When I was expecting Commander C I didn't much care if he was a boy or a girl, I liked boys, I even married one. When I was expecting Boba Fett I wanted to have a girl very badly and I confess I was depressed for about 4 weeks after I learned he was a boy.

When I was expecting Nutmeg I NEEDED to have a girl. I loved baby boys, I was used to them I was even a little afraid of baby girls but suddenly pink and lace, dolls and tea sets were all I could think about.

I even started buying girl clothes in what I called “The Vintage Baby Fashion Show” before I knew that she was a she.

So, 3 years ago today I was blessed to become the mother of the most precious girl I had ever seen. She looked just like a china doll and still does.

She was tiny and still is (unlike her brothers who were chubby and the chubbiest baby you have ever seen respectively.)

1876 days of holding, snuggling and kissing a little girl. 3 years if worrying about her barely there hair and praying she has my complexion not her dad's and her dad's feet and not mine.

36 months of pink, lace, dolls, tea sets, ballerinas, finger nail polish and “cute outfits.” When you only have one girl you have to make every day a cute one.

3 years of discovering her nurturing, yet bossy personality. 2 years of being afraid she will turn into a tom boy.

1 year of being certain she is going to be an emotional roller coaster like her mother. Hundreds of signs and thousands of potty visits. 2 Emergency room visits.

14 nights apart. 3 years of looking forward to passing on my knowledge of being a woman. Several months of listening to her call herself “a little girdle.” 1 pair of tiny knee high black boots.

To our “Nutmeg,” “Princess Pink-Shoes-Snot-Nose-Wet Pants,” “Monkey,” Miss Mussolini.” Happy Birthday and Thank You for being a girl, my best friend, and liking pink.

An unlucky day

When I woke Boba Fett this morning he opened his eyes and said with all the ferver of a 5 year old "Yes! This is my lucky day!" Why lucky? Well because during the vacation he had been saving up to buy a toy rifle at the truck stop in St. Regis (also known as "The Fish Store.") He spied it during our potty break on the way to Grandma's house. I grabbed it out of his hand looked at the price tag, $9.95 and said "Maybe you can earn some money and buy it when we come back." And then rushed him to the car, it was 4:00 and it was the shortest day of the year and we were trying to beat the dark.

So all vacation he shoveled Grandma's Porch and there was a LOT of snow. Santa brought $5 in his stocking and he earned enough for the gun. So when we arrived at "The Fish Store" I said to him "This is your lucky minute." He was so excited and we went back to the toys and the gun he wanted was not there. We asked the kind sales lady if they had any more and she went and looked and even called gift shops in Coeur d'Alene and Kellogg to no avail. No gun. Boba Fett was in heartbroken tears.

Then in the last half hour of the trip he declared he "couldn't take it any more." because he had been in the car for so long and was clutching at his throat as if in pain.

Then when unpacking we opened his whoopee cushion and it had a hole in it.

An unlucky day.

December Reading List

The Other Wise Man - by Henry Van Dyke
I will probably make this small book an annual read

The Christmas Sweater

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
- Still reading ALMOST finished.

I don't really have much to say, I liked them, they were good. I was very busy knitting and writing a talk. I am sad that I did not have a chance to read my favorite Christmas book Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I may have read something else, but honestly I can't remember I was very busy knitting, like I said.

Up Next: The Communist Manifesto - just to see what all the hubbub is about.

Goals for 2009

I don't do resolutions, they seem a little too resolute. I like to make goals instead, something to reach for but not too concrete to allow for the ebb and flow of life.

Here are some of Samurai Mom's goals for 2009

Spend more time interacting with each of the children.

Do Family Home evening more.

Serve more.

Adopt more structure into our day.

Sew a tartan Christmas Skirt.

Crochet snowflakes.

If handmade Christmas gifts are to be given - start them in September.

Figure out how to read while knitting.

Go walking.

Learn to listen and ask better questions.

You had me at Irene Dunne

One of the things we like to do when we are in Montana is watch old movies with my dad. Last night we ended the year with Cary Grant in An Affair To Remember. This morning he informed me that there should be good old movies on New Year's Day. He was going through the list reading the titles and stars when I said "Stop! You had me at Irene Dunne."