Sophia's Wreath

Awe, the things you can get done on a vacation! I finally got Sophia's wreath done! I kind of wish I had done this for myself with my wedding rehearsal bouquet. I had saved a lot of the ribbons and decorations from the gifts and flowers that Sophia received, when she was born, as well as just about all the gift bags, and had also purchased silk flowers commemorative of the real flowers she and I had received. For the last (almost) two years all these things have been sitting in Sophia's room, on her table and in a vase on her bookshelf, and finally, last week, I got the ribbon tied, the flowers glued, the bags cut into flower shapes, and everything assembled on the wreath! I'm pretty stink'n proud of myself and Walter couldn't stop saying "wow!" It came out as great as I hoped. I hope Sophia will always think it is special. Right now she loves the butterflies (a.k.a "buff-fly!") and birds (a.k.a "ducks" or "boop" or "ba").

Sophia's Sweater

When I was still pregnant with Padon my Aunt Barbara came to visit and gave me three little bags of fiber - one natural, one purple, and one red, a book on spinning and knitting natural fibers, and a little story book about a lamb who tries to dye himself with berries. It was a super sweet gift as she was giving me something for a hobby that I absolutely adore! Padon was born and the fiber didn't get carded and washed; it just seemed to get lost in my stash. I didn't forget about it, though, it was just that there wasn't really enough there to make a complete sweater and the quality of fiber wasn't one that you would typically put against a baby's skin. Finally in 2009 I got my act together and carded and spun the purple and the red, and at the fall Spin In, at Weaving Works, purchased a pound of Merino/Tussah blend (delicious!) called Daffodil and picked out the most adorable hooded sweater pattern. It took me almost another year (it is freak'n hard to spin with little kids around) to finish spinning the Daffodil and to get the sweater knit.

I had heard that a pound of fiber equaled a whole sweater but, what does that really mean? If you were to spin a chunky weight yarn then you most certainly won't have the same amount of yarn that you would if you were to spin a fingering weight. I typically spin what is referred to as worsted weight and it turned out for a size 24 mn sweater that allotted enough yarn to knit the sweater body, one sleeve, hood and all of the other sleeve except for half the cuff. What the!? it was significant enough that were I to bind off the cuff and say "eh, just wear it!" you would be able to tell that the sweater sleeves were lopsided. Knowing I needed to make a trip to Weaving Works or my friend's yarn shop, I opted instead to embroider the sweater, as-is, with the red and purple from my Aunt, and a bit of hand spun green that I had gotten in 2005 in a silent auction. It turned out great!

Walter knew of my estimated fiber to yarnage debacle and in a feat of great heroism attempted to find the fiber for me. First he grabbed the sweater forgetting that the soft fluff of the fabric had been hand spun by me and attempted to find another skein of yarn at Weaving Works. The gal that was trying to help him became significantly less helpful when she learned that I had probably not bought the yarn from them, but would have been immensely helpful if she had bothered to really look at the sweater and put two and two together; there for asking - "um does your wife spin?" To which the resolution would have been "oh! we totally have this fiber against that back wall in that plastic tote!" Instead she sent Walter sadly on his merry way, in a blind search for my friend, Claudia's, yarn shop; he didn't find it. Walter came home silently defeated but through some round about questions was able to get out of me that the sweater was hand spun by me and that Claudia's shop, Main Street Yarn, was in Bothell. He again snuck off to find the elusive fiber and went to Claudia's shop to find that they were sold out of the Daffodil (it rocks!) but that they would order him some more. He looked through their fiber curio cases and picked out two ounces of a really nice sea blue merino/tussah blend and one ounce of cashmere/tussah blend. I love the thought of what his face did when the cashmere/tussah rang up in the register. Both fibers are hard to process and so you pay for the hard work to create this scrumptiously soft fiber. Later I found that that price was $10.50 an ounce. Thank goodness he only got one ounce. He came home proud of his purchase, albeit disappointed that it didn't include the Daffodil and presented me with this incredibly heart felt Mother's Day present.

A couple months later I had picked up the Daffodil from Claudia's shop, spun it, and finished knitting the sweater. What a feat! I was dying to share pictures of the sweater with my aunt and to let her know that I had finally finished but I needed buttons and it was another month before I had made the trek to JoAnn Fabric and found the most perfect Dragonfly buttons.

I put the sweater on Sophia, on a warm, early September day, while she was wearing a tank top, and at first she kept grabbing at the sleeve, saying "Off, off. Stuck!" but in the end, started smiling and laughing at me finding it funny that she was making it difficult to take a picture. I was struggling to take a picture of her without Padon in the back ground and was able to snap a couple good ones before he still managed to get himself in the shot and I screamed way too loud at him in the back yard; ruining the moment for everyone. With the nice shots that I did get I have sent an email to my Aunt Barbara and I think she will be touched at the how nice the sweater looks and that I thought of her. She did ask me about the fiber once before and I sadly had told her that I had not spun it yet. I think she thought then, that maybe it wouldn't happen. I'm so glad that I get to show her that it did, and that I was able to make a special keepsake for Sophia to pass onto her children, if she has any.

4th Annual Warren Holiday - Long Beach, WA

This year we chose to go to Long Beach, WA for our 4th Annual Warren Holiday. About 4 hours from home it wasn't too far away but far enough that we reserved a hotel room and stayed for three days and two nights. The prospect of going away for a trip was exciting and a release from work for me.

-

As we drove into Long Beach we passed a restaurant called "The Crab Pot". We had allocated enough money to have one nice meal and thinking of "The Crab Pot" in Seattle we decided how could we not spend our special meal at a place that didn't have crab or steamed clams. We went in and the staff had a surprising air about them; like they were irritated with our arrival. They tried to hold off on giving us a high chair, on the reservation that a family of 6 was coming and needed a high chair, and they were bluntly courteous. I'm was all for the other family having a highchair too but the gals attitude was, well the highchair is reserved so you'll have to figure something else out. My attitude was YOU figure something else out. Needless to say she realized quickly that there was no way we were going to sit our 21 month old Pia on a standard adult chair and she went and got us the highchair.

-

When the food came we realized we had been dooped (sp?). This was not THE Crab Pot but another crab pot where the crab was over cooked, soft, and there were no extras like potatoes, corn on the cob, and craw fish. We did get the steamed clams, which were good, but for the price it was very underrated. We walked away sharing our two crab pots and steamed clams with Padon and Sophia and paying $106. While waiting for Walter to pay the bill Padon, Sophia and I went next door to check out the live crab tanks and another gal came in and said abruptly "are you just looking or do you want to buy anything?" I said we were just looking and she said "Fine", irritated, and walked back out of the room. I highly recommend not eating at this restaurant if you pass through Long Beach, WA.
-

After dinner we found our room at Coastal Inn and Suites, an incredibly affordable Motel in the heart of Long Beach, and ventured out to see the sites before it got too dark. Walter thought it would be nice to go out to the ocean even though we wouldn't be staying too long and was eager to see the kids faces. Stupidly it never dawned on us how freak'n hard it would be to push or even pull a stroller across the soft dry sand, but Walter was determined and he got it all the way out to the water. Small note: you can see Sophia in the picture but there was no way we could pull that stroller with Padon in it too and so he had to walk which he was a little disgruntled with :).

It was beautiful and I was eager to take pictures of the kids profiles in the sunset. It was freezing, however, and we didn't stay too long, knowing we would be back the next day and for the whole day.

The next day we woke to a really nice and warm day. We packed up all our beach gear: towels, sand toys, lunch, swim suits, sandals, and diaper bag, and ventured to walk to the beach. We stopped at a store to buy Padon a kite, since the previous weekend had been a big kite festival. Surprisingly the kites weren't cheap but we still got Padon a neat Star Wars Yoda kite and he was really excited to fly it. Once on the beach it was perfectly warm in the sun. The wind off the water brought the temperature down but not so much that you couldn't sit in the sun in your swimsuit and bask. Sadly, Padon wasn't in the mood for picture/portraits and so many of the pictures I was able to get of him and Sophia at the ocean were from behind. I really wish the picture below could have been of them both facing me. It would have made a beautifully framed picture.

Sophia was stink'n cute in her bathing suit. It had been surprisingly hard to find a little girl's suit that fit her from crotch to shoulder and then around her chest and once one was found I was eager for her to have the opportunity to wear it a lot. She wore this super cute bikini for her birthday as well and her deliciously chunky thighs were adorable in it.

With all picnics come some special treats and I finally got a cute picture of Padon and his pleasure of juice pouches. The simple things that float a four year old's boat.

After lunch we assembled the kite. The wind was perfect for it and Padon enjoyed the concept of the kite but mostly enjoyed watching Walter and I fly it while he tried to tackle the very long tail that had Star Wars emblems down the various segments of it.

Soon after lunch Sophia crashed on one of the towels for a needed nap and I took the opportunity to go ride the waves. When my family lived in Upstate, NY we would travel to Long Is. to see my Grandmother and would often go to the Atlantic Ocean and "ride the waves". I really enjoyed it and was really looking forward to going to the ocean on this trip because there would be waves to ride. Considerably colder then the Atlantic, I still ventured out into the water and worked my way up to chest deep. Down the way from me were a couple teenage girls attempting to do the same thing, but in wet suites, and I quietly applauded myself for the insanity to attempt it without a wet suit. After a bit I was numb enough (I believe the Pacific Ocean doesn't go about 56 degrees) to feel like the water was kind of warm and I rode and rode the waves. It was great! I looked past the brown scum floating on the water, mentally missed the white sand of the Atlantic, and had a great time. Walter watching me from a far, smiling at himself that his crazy wife was off over excelling again, and loved me. As I was getting tired, and my throat sore from the salt water I couldn't help but swallow, Walter arrived with the kids who wanted to see the water, but were quickly done with it because it was really cold. Walter laughed at me with how cold my skin was to the touch. The only sad thing about reliving memory lane was at some point I lost one of my 12 gauge spiral earrings that I had waited a year to get. They were one of the few things I could wear at work that was very me but still appropriate for corporate life.

Some where in this timeline Walter and I also took a nice long sun nap while Padon played quietly in the sand. I had slathered us all up with sunscreen, with the exception of Walter who felt he didn't need it; that his Mediterranean skin would protect him. This is a foreshadowed statement for later on in this blog entry :).

After Sophia woke up from her nap we packed ourselves up and made our way back to the hotel room, to drop off our stuff, and to venture out to shop in the long strip of kitchy tourist stores. I really wanted to go to a very well known ice cream parlor that boasted 56 flavors and they didn't disappoint. I don't remember what the kids or Walter had only that I had black licorice and a sour rainbow of sherbet that strangely complimented each other and tasted fantastic! And best yet, the black licorice ice cream didn't disappoint and dyed my teeth, tongue, and lips a lovely shade of dark gray. I so love black licorice ice cream!

When Walter was little he and Dad Warren would go play mini golf. When we found a mini golf course in town it was a great opportunity to share that experience with Padon too. It wasn't all Walter hoped it would be, however, and I think it had a lot to do with how old Padon was. I wonder if they went and tried again next summer if things wouldn't be different. Mostly Padon just wanted to climb on the obstacles that were just his size. They did enjoy going in the Arcade though and played and played the games, collecting tickets. Padon was so excited to trade his tickets in for a necklace, bracelet, and 5 pieces of candy. They also rode the Carasele together, Padon got his face painted for free, and over all Padon was so excited to experience this town that was proving to be fun at every corner. We made sure to stop in a Hallmark-ish store so Sophia could pick out a souvenier and she picked out a plush monkey that quickly became one of her most favorite toys.

When we got back to the hotel room I felt a little tickle on the back of my leg and scratched it and felt the instant flame of a too-be lobster red sun burn. I was totally taken back. I had sprayed the kids down liberaly and then had done myself. Had I asked Walter to spray me down I may have not missed the back of both legs, and a portion of the side of both legs. My left leg was the worst and by the next morning both legs were displaying 2nd degree burn symptoms. Walter too was sunburned, all over his back, face, shoulders, and arms, but had the characteristic 1st degree "don't you dare touch me!" burn. I on the other hand had the suck in your breath, try not to cry, hobble to the bathroom, wimper at the site of a chair or getting out of a chair, burn. The kids were so shocked by my reaction to the cold Aloe Vera gel on my legs when we got home that they wouldn't go near my legs for two weeks; Sophia waving her hand in front of her body saying "Don't touch, don't touch". I hadn't been this burned since my Sophmore year at WSU and it was just as miserable as I remembered it. I spent the next week with burn cream and bandages wrapped around my legs as they healed.

I had to forgo the massage I had planned for this week that I had taken off but I really didn't want to pass on the train trip we had wanted to take Padon and Sophia on. By the end of the week the swelling had supsided enough to allow me to walk short distances and that was enough to get us to the bus station. Walter and I had hoped to take Padon on the train from Everett to Tacoma but as the Amtrak train ticket 'guy' (what do you call them?) said, "This isn't Europe!" and we couldn't get tickets for a family of four or at all for that matter to go on the train anywhere at short notice. Feeling deflated but appreciative that we didn't need to spend $50 per person to take the short distance ride to Tacoma, it dawned on me that I loved taking the light rail in DC and that Padon probably would be just as pleased with that as he would the Amtrak. So we hoppped on the 510 Sound Transit bus to the Seattle Bus Tunnel and caught the Sound Transit Light Rail to the Sea Tac International Airport.

It was what we hopped it would be. The kids loved it, loved looking out the windows, and watching the people get on and off. Moral did start to break as we passed by lunch and nap time and Sophia started slapping and bucking because she wanted to walk around the train. She was thoroughly pissed that I wouldn't let her down and in an angry, get even, moment she went to tear (no exageration) the glasses from my face as the train braked. My back was mostly to her so as she fell backwards off the seat she was standing on, I couldn't turn around fast enough to catch her as she fell inbetween the two seats and smacked her head on the seat in front of us. She sobbed, angry that I let her fall, because I wouldn't let her down, and would only let Walter hold and comfort her. The looks I got from the other passengers down graded my Stellar Mom rating but at that point I too was very hungry and irritated and hoping my point was made about why she couldn't walk around the train. A trip to the Denny's across from the airport remeeded our sour moods and spirits were boosted.

-

As we made our way back to the Light Rail Padon pressed his forehead against the bridge railing to look down on the cars passing by and gave himself a little temporary tattoo. It was the funny that we needed to get us home.

Sophia crashed big time on the ride back to Seattle and on the walk back to the bus stop. Overall it was a nice way to end our 4th Warren Holiday. We had accomplished a lot and we had made a lot of good memories. We had some great quality family time and that is what the holiday is all about!

Because I Have To!

Oh ma gawd! We have reached the stage where those other parents were! Those parents in the elevator that whistled through their teeth at the thought of new babies and toddlers. The ones that made tisk-tisk faces when they heard Padon was two and three years old. Only I didn't understand because my two year old was awesome! My three year old, through 2/3rds of the year, was stellar and I didn't get it. I was also patting myself on the back for having obviously birthed myself some awesome kids and for having such a wonderful family. Well we're there. We are now the parents ignoring their kids in the store when they are going "mommy, mommy, mommy..." Those parents that make you wonder why the mom doesn't reply back and think to yourself how you would handle the situation better were you in that mom's shoes.

I am the mother, now, that says "don't pick that up, put that down, that's yucky, don't put that in your mouth, do you hear my words?, are your ears broken?" I'm the screamer and sometimes hitter, and I wonder where I lost myself. Well I do know; but I had thought until now that I was better then that, that it wouldn't happen to me. You'd think after 4 years of parenting I might have caught on to how silly that thought was.


The days of cute, photogenic poses are gone. The days of complete devotion to me are gone, and have been replaced with a willfull, contrary, bossy, tattling, and independent individual. Don't get me wrong. I am glad to see Padon voice his opinion and to show what his likes and dislikes are but what kills me is the act of being contrary to just be contrary; to fight me on putting on his pajamas just to see how far he can take it and if the rules still apply. This is often harder and longer lasting for me because Padon gets more continual reinforcement with Walter then he does with me.

Instead of the toddler that just said "no, no!!" he now makes up excuses about why he shouldn't, or sometimes should, do something. With my latest horrendous sun burn, he now uses that as an example, saying that his legs will hurt too much if he has to walk alongside the stroller, instead insisting that he must be crammed in the one toddler size SUV stroller with Sophia. He says that his stomach hurts at night in an attempt to not go to bed and has recently even been able to make himself cry. I

My latest bain is the "Because I have to!" phrase. "Padon you can't go with me to Claudia's yarn shop because you will be bored to tears and not let me get anything done." (Ok, not literally in those words) "But I have tooooooooo!!!!!!" says Padon with a painful whine. He supposedly has to jump on the bed, play with Sophia's toys, or wear the dirty pj's at the bottom of the laundry hamper too. It has also been very difficult for me to adjust to the barage of questions to which he interrupts your answer to ask another question. When I get super frustrated and tell him I don't want to talk to him anymore, because if he really wanted to talk he would let me talk back, he gets kind of quiet and says "but I still like you."

This is all an amazing transition for me. I have realized a lot of my frustration really stems from my long commute and from being over tired during the week. It is really hard to give undivided attention and patience to someone, when you have just gotten home, someone is already crying, and you have just sat down on the toilet. It's just fabulous to have an audience for that and then be told that your bottom is big. Privacy please! At least he does still give me big hugs, lovely kisses, and tells me he "so loves" me. It helps recharge that love battery.