I hate curtain rods

So, I thought I should resurrect this blog in the hopes of getting more blood flowing to my creative brain.  I recently got a sewing machine for Christmas.  Well, it was really for Nubbin to use - if you remember, Nubbin is my oldest son.  He's 9 now, so I may have to come up with a different name.

Anyway, I decided I'd make curtains for our playroom... Mind you, it didn't matter that I'd never used a sewing machine by myself before.  After 1/2 hour of 'threading the bobbin', I figured out how to stitch with it.  Not straight, but I did learn to stitch.  Now to make curtains.  I figured it would be easy.  I can make rectangles right?  Well, after internet searching and conferences with ladies who were well versed in the art of sewing (aka mom and my dear auntie), I took the plunge.  I bought curtains from the Goodwill store for 3.39.  Not a bad investment except there were only two.  My plan?  Simple.  Cut the curtains in half, sew it down the middle.  It initially seemed daunting since I could barely sew in a straight line. 

But, to my surprise, it was easier than I thought.  My hems were turned in twice and I figured out how to rip a seam to make my curtains longer (darn 9 foot ceilings).  I'm feeling really good about myself... until, I have to hang the curtain rods.  I need explicit instructions, not this 'it's your preference' stuff of where to put the rods.  Oh, and apparently, my inability to sew straight line extends to my ability to draw a straight line.  Despite the crutch of a level, I still don't know how to make a line.  Now, I know why none of my windows downstairs have curtains.  This sucks.  Well, back to the grind, but I will post pictures if I can get them up... mantra.  don't hate the rods, don't hate the rods. 

Give Them An Inch...

...and they take the whole mile.  I decided to let the kids pack their own lunches as I've seen many of my friends and neighbors do.  They're 5 and 6 and fully capable of doing this chore.  This comes on the heels of Nubbin asking for more chores in order to earn money. 

Well, Nubbin did a great job.... turkey and cheese sandwich, apple slices, chex mix and a cookie for snack... Fafa?  well, let's just say I'm coming up with guidelines this afternoon for healthy choices to 'help' them make good decisions.  He packed 2 cookies (one in it's own ziplock bag), apple slices and water.  He was quite pleased with himself, so I didn't steal his thunder... but, husband's concern made me think that I should have laid down the ground rules beforehand.  More independence will give them confidence right? 

There's a Logical Answer To All This

I thank the stars every day that I grew up speaking English.  Not because I'm elitist, but because the rules of the English language are just too complicated.  In English, rules are meant to be broken.  The 2nd son is my rule follower, even when it comes to language.  

We were playing a game the other night and Fafa was reminding everyone what place they came in during the game.  I, of course, was last.  As he's rattling off the places, he says, 'And mommy "comed" in last'... In our language, 'come-d' should have been 'came'... It really does sound logical when you think about the rules.  When he's talking about 'third', he also says, 'three-th'... again, it really does make sense.  Alas, I pity any non-english speaker... we really did make it harder than it should be.

Because You Asked Me

My New Year's resolution is to find a hobby... oh and a job.,, and be a better wife... well, I should probably quit while I'm ahead. So, I'm resolving to start this thing back up again. Here's the first picture of the new year. Can you tell that the boys have grown since the last post?

We're too old to play dress up.

Husband and I had a costume party on the night before Halloween. We went dressed up as Jack and Jill after they fell down the hill. Husband used his crutch from last year and I wrapped my ankle in a bandage... you can't tell from this, but we tried to smear some 'dirt' all over us to make it look authentic... thanks Sissy UncleT for all the help with the costumes

Halloween night I went as a rocker chick... really, I just wanted to borrow my neighbor's wig for the night... brought back many memories of strangely colored hair.

Happy Halloween

Halloween night - Nubbin is a bat and Fafa wanted to be a race car driver. I made Nubbin's costume out of an umbrella and Daddy made the hat with light up red LED's with the ears on top. Nubbin didn't wear the hat for long, but it was the coolest part of this whole costume.

Preschool Halloween parade for Fafa's class - dinosaur costume was too cute and he kept pulling it up because it was too long in the back.

I'm the room parent for Nubbin's kindergarten and took pics of the kids before the book character parade (the public school's version of a Halloween parade)... Fafa wanted to be part of the party too and he wouldn't get out of the picture :)

This side up only

Husband picked up Fafa by his waist and was trying to flip him upside down. However, Fafa forgot to mention that he had been playing in the neighbor's sandbox and had decided to put sand in his shirt pocket to 'save for later.' heehee. sandy daddy :)

The bird did it

The boys are really into 'karate' and kicking and being boys which means wanting to hit anything that has a pulse. or not. I'm reading to them the other night and all the sudden Fafa blurts out, 'When I see a robin, I'm going to kick him in the butt!' To which the other one chimes in, 'And when he's finished, I'm going to throw the robin through the window and he's going to hit a tree!'

Alarmed at this sudden burst of violence towards a seemingly gentle foe, I asked them, 'So, you really want to hurt a little bird? Don't you think that's a little harsh?' In my best moral mommy voice, I added 'and that's not very nice to treat animals like that.'

Shocked looks greeted my soapbox lecture and the boys both chimed in, 'NOT a bird, a ROBIN!!' All the sudden it became very clear. They MEANT to say, robber not robin. 'OH! I think you meant ROBBER, not robin.'

'YEAH!!! that's it!! we're going to kick the robin in the butt'... Hilarious child laughter ensues followed by a grown up sigh of relief after realizing that my kids may NOT be destined for jail.

The berry patch

Husband took the kids to Buckwheat farms for strawberry picking

getting friendly with the locals

Nubbin and his best friend from preschool... Nubbin's got the hang of the whole 'smile for the camera' thing :)

Run! Fafa, RUN!!!

I'm using the fluffiest part of my mind

Nubbin is doing that thing that I find genuinely adorable in all kids. He's making stuff up. hopefully, it won't spill over into more little white lies... more on that in another post. He was describing his newest 'environmentally friendly' gun the other night while we were getting ready for bed. Apparently, it could make rainbows along with shooting grass, sticks and other weapons of mass destruction...

Today, while we were having some quiet time, I hear him playing with the Lego creation he's just made and I look over at him just to watch what he's doing. He sees me and gives a sheepish grin and says, 'mommy, I'm just using my mind. I'm okay. It's my imagination.' heehee... you don't have to explain creativity to me, son... I'm more than happy to just observe.

snowball fight!

Yes, it snowed again this weekend. It was the kind of wet snow that was good for making snowballs and snow men. My attempt at a snowman is already melting and the kids abandoned me shortly after I started making it, but I had fun and for a short time, so did the kids...

I've learned that I love snow more than the rest of the family... Husband has an excuse, being from Buffalo and all, but the kids just don't realize what they're missing out on.

Paci trashy party

Fafa finally throws away his paci's... He went back to the trash several times, but I got smart with the 1st born and had immediately thrown some icky leftovers on the paci's so as to make them less desirable...

Cute cake shot :)

Look Ma, no paci!

After several months of threatening to take away Fafa's paci, he decided one day that he wanted to throw them out. I kept asking, 'Don't you want to wait until tomorrow?' That, of course, was the mom in me not wanting to lose my precious baby.

But he was pretty firm about wanting to throw them out, so we celebrated with a cake and candles. He kept saying, 'momma, it's not my birthday today, but it is...' Clearly, he was slightly confused about the candles, but I thought they added a nice touch. That night, as expected, was pretty bad, but he finally fell asleep and has only asked for it a couple of times... we're free!

Snowy day - 1-30-2010

we got close to 5 inches, but mostly sleet with snow underneath... great for sledding, not so great for making a snowman

sledding down the steep incline of the neighbor's driveway. What you don't see is the aftermath of the kids almost running into a parked car on the other side of the street. They didn't understand the concept of 'LEFT!... no, no... RIGHT! LEFT!'

The Wolfe family portrait

The boys... Nubbin loves the snow and stayed outside for hours, but Fafa was NOT interested and wanted to go inside pretty quickly

The next day I brought out the syrup I had bought for the snow cone machine and we made REAL snow cones... the kids and the neighbor's kids loved it... I earned some cool mom points for that :)

The Wolfe Thanksgiving Celebration of 2009

family dinner with all the extended Wolfe pack

Fafa somehow remembered the birthday cake that Grandma had made for Nubbin's bday (6 months earlier, mind you) and asked if she could make him a 'cupcake cake'.. yummy chocolate pound cake... definitely my favorite part of the thanksgiving meal :)

a few of the best aunts in the world :)

The boys with Grandma...

The cousins were the highlight of the holiday... my boys were just in heaven having them around

Better late than never - Preschool Thanksgiving 2009

lunch with mommy

the boys :)

Fafa enjoying a cupcake

Crap, that was easy.

Fafa is almost potty trained. in a little over 1 week. How does that happen? I'm still reeling from the joy of not changing diapers. He's had a couple of accidents, but always knows when he's about to pee and those accidents usually happen because he can't pull his pants down fast enough.

Our next goal is to get him peeing in the 'big' potty. Right now, he's using the Elmo potty... which just happens to be in the middle of the family room. Sorry, but he likes to watch TV while he pees. Did I mention he also poops in the potty without prompting... we're referring to them as 'brown bears'... "Go Bears..."

I do think that Nubbin has a lot to do with it... I had to keep myself from laughing when Nubbin was describing the benefits of underwear which apparently included the ability to run faster and an added bonus of a 'pocket' in front... Perhaps, the best was 'now you can have Transformers in your pants'... an obvious reference to my preschool rule that the kids can take a toy to school but only if it fits in their pants pocket... so far, we have yet to find a Transformer small enough to fit in a size 3 or 4 pants pocket.

Heartbreaker

mischievious and cute all in one parting shot

Better late than never - Fafa's 3rd birthday

This is the annual playdate with cake where we invite the neighborhood friends who have watched Fafa grow from a little baby to my cute 3 year old

my favorite picture of the year :)

It's all about Transformers this year. This is the toy where I made the mistake of thinking Fafa would forget about it in a couple of months if I bought it with him in tow... no, he didn't forget and reminded me often that I had bought this toy for him... bad mommy.

I made the cake this year and bought the Transformer figures at Target and stuck them in it... Nubbin helped decorate with the yellow icing.

Fafa's big gift... Husband hated the idea, but i thought they would really enjoy it. Turns out, husband may have been right... as of 2010, they broke the net and now don't play with it... nice.

The Wolfe Pack

Auntie Al and Baby Alex came to visit in November and we just love it when they are here. Notice the paci in Fafa's mouth... he only wanted it because baby Alex had one too...

keeping up with the big kids at the park :)

hug the baby :)

love this pic of Grandma with her boys... taken at the Natural history museum when she came to visit us in September 2009...

Better late than never - Halloween 2009

Nubbin as Optimus Prime and Fafa as Speed Racer... borrowed the outfit from the Getz Gang and I made Fafa's outfit... even had to make the shirt... who knew it would be this hard to find a blue shirt.

We had a neighborhood party and Fafa got his face painted... you can't see it, but he had hot pink hairspray too :)

Nubbin had one of his good friends from preschool and the two of them definitely had the stamina this year to really go trick or treating... we all shared in the bounty of Nubbin's candy

On the other hand, Fafa was done pretty early with trick or treating... Husband's rule is 'if you want candy, you have to walk to each house... mommy and daddy do NOT carry you'

Of course, this was during Husband's foot injury... People actually thought this was a costume. wonder how they thought that.